Blade of Fenrir
by Cee Ess
Summary: A sword is a sword, no matter the time or place. So let's see what our favourite sword/hero-wannabe will do in this dying world. Will he sacrifice it all to try and save someone, or will he find a path beyond his hypocritical dream? That is to be seen.
1. A Beginning As Old As 2004

Fire.

Fire everywhere.

Consuming everything and everyone in sight.

Crawling over the broken buildings and scrambling innocents.

And walking through the flames was a boy.

The boy was walking towards the flames, the epicenter of this hell.

Hands clasped over his ears to ignore the screams and pleas of those burning, tears streaming from his golden eyes, whether from pain or fear the boy didn't know anymore, as he walked towards the flames.

The boy walked on and on, until he could walk no more.

Collapsing atop a pile of rubble, the boy reached out, desperate to be saved, so desperate he had already left behind his own self, his name, memories, and feelings.

As he reached out, he saw a large shadow in the distance. A large creature on two lanky legs, black enough that it seemed to absorb the light, with lanky arms attached to claws that looked sharp enough to rip the boy to shreds. He remembered the appearance of the head from a book his M-o!h#r had shown him when he was younger.

A wolf. With eyes as red, if not redder than the boys own hair.

As soon as the boy saw it, it was gone, along with the flames and the screaming.

Alone, the boy looked onward, feeling his body lose the energy, the life, to keep his arm up.

Wishing, hoping for salvation, his arm fell.

But it was not for long. For his hand was caught by a man.

The man was looking down on the boy and...

"You're alive..."

...smiling.

"Thank you. Thank you."

The man was crying, but was smiling all the while.

The boy couldn't understand. Why was he smiling? But he also felt jealous. Would he one day be able to smile like that?

As the boy slowly faded into the darkness of unconsciousness, the last things he remembered was hoping to one day have a smile like the man's, a green glow, and a slight pricking pain in his left wrist.

* * *

Awakening, Shirou Emiya let out a small gasp.

"That dream again..."

Before he could continue the sentence, he was interrupted by a call.

"Senpai! Breakfast is ready!"

Panicking, Shirou stood up and moved towards the door of the Engineering room.

"Sakura, you didn't have to do that! It's my job to-"

Shirou was then interrupted by a well-endowed girl with purple hair adorned by a red hair tie and purple eyes. Scowling, she replied,

"No senpai! You already do too much work around the Den, so we should at least help out!"

This girl was Sakura Matou, the younger sister of Shirou's old friend, Shinji, and his junior in Kuromatsu High. Well she was but...

"Come on Sakura! You know I do the work because I like it! Besides that, didn't I tell you to call me Shirou since I graduated from Kuromatsu?"

Surprised, Sakura steps back before looking downward with a light red hue to her face, then looked to Shirou and part-muttered,

"B-But, even if we don't go to the same school... You're still my senpai, senpai. Besides, calling you by your first name is embarrassing..."

Not hearing the second part of Sakura's reprisal, Shirou acquiesced.

"Alright, alright, whatever you want. Well, let's get going Sakura."

Shaken from her embarrassment, Sakura follows.

"A-Alright Senpai!"

As they walked down the halls of the Den, Shirou looked to his left wrist, to see the crimson red armlet that had been placed there so long ago. Looking onwards, Shirou thinks back to the day this all began. The day in the hospital.

The day he became a God Eater.

* * *

**Hello everyone. My name is Cee, and thanks for reading the first chapter of my story. Now, I wanna apologize if this was painful to read.**

**In my own experience writing, I normally write from a self-made character's viewpoint, or even my own. So trying to write from an actual premade character's viewpoint is new.**

**Another thing is the highly likely chance I accidentally swapped between present and past tense during this. I know I signed a contract saying I have to give it my utmost, but I'm a dumbass, so things will slip through the cracks.**

**A third thing is that there are possibly random capitals at the beginnings of words that shouldn't have capitals, and I blame my phone for that. The autocorrect loves capitals at the front of words.**

**Fourth, the chapter title. I couldn't decide whether I should just say Chapter 1 or Prologue, so I said a funny joke.**

**Fifth, the fact that effectively no one will find this as it's the first Fate and God Eater crossover, and it's rated M, meaning a casual run through of won't show you this.**

**Sixth, I hand drew the cover, so it looks low cost, but it's what I hope the story ends up as. It belongs to me and only me.**

**Seventh, I don't own Fate or God Eater, probably should've said that first.**

**Eighth****, this is way too long for an Author's Note. Thank you for reading and goodbye!**


	2. Hospital Visits and Shirou Abuse, Oh My

The first thing the boy saw was white.

Blinding white.

Turning his head, and feeling a crick as he did, the blinding white was juxtaposed by a figure dressed black, like the be-@s*t!/

As the boy's eyes accustomed to the blinding white, he was able to make out details he didn't notice.

Like how he was in a bed, a warm bed, not as hot as the f/#r%

He also noticed he wasn't alone. The black figure he saw was actually a man. The same man that saved him.

The one that smiled.

Before he could pursue that line of thought, his attention was pulled to the slight weight on his left wrist. Looking down, he saw a giant red armlet on his left wrist.

It was almost pure red, if not for the metallic oval on top surrounded by a thick black line.

Hearing the rustling from the boy investigating his new attachment, the man dressed in black looked towards the boy.

With a small tired smile, the man greeted the boy.

"Hello."

The boy paused in his investigation of the armlet to turn to the man, his saviour.

The boy was silent, not saying anything because nothing truly came to mind.

The man, taking this as a sign to continue, spoke.

"My name is Kiritsugu Emiya. What's your name?"

The boy closed his eyes, before speaking for the first time.

"I-I," he coughs trying to get used to speaking again after sleeping for so long, "I don't know... my name."

The only reaction the man gave was a darkening of the eyes, and a clenching of his fists, before continuing,

"Is there anything you would like to be called?"

The boy wondered, before, in his mind, he saw a flash, of a tall man with **white** hair slicked back, and a smug smirk.

"Shirou," the boy responded.

The man looked a little less upset, no longer clenching his fists.

"Well Shirou. I'm going to ask you a weird question. Would you rather go with the other children to the orphanage, or with a stranger that you don't know?"

At the mention of other children, the boy looked around, noticing the other people in the room.

Children, with arms and legs in casts, or bandages around their heads and bodies sat around in separate beds, all looking at him.

Closing his eyes and making a pose he remembers his fa#t-?he$r making, he thought on his choices.

Go to the orphanage with the other children, or go with the strange man. He almost went with the orphanage but...

That smile...

If he went with this man, his saviour, would he be able to smile like that too?

Decision made, he nodded his head and pointed towards the man.

The man looked shocked, before smiling warmly and standing.

"Alright then. I'll go talk to the hospital staff. From today on, you'll be known as Shirou Emiya. Is that okay?"

The boy, the newly named Shirou Emiya, nodded his head.

The man began to walk out of the room, before stopping and half-turning to Shirou.

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

Gesturing with his right hand, on which lay a red armlet similar to Shirou's own, but with a different design, and black-and-yellow tape wrapped around it, Kiritsugu stated,

"I'm a God Eater."

* * *

"Heeeeey, Shirou!"

Startled from his reminiscing, Shirou looked to the source of the energetic voice only to see...

"Ah! Fuji-nee!"

Before being summarily bonked on the head by the dreaded Tora Shinai. As he collapsed to the ground, he heard Sakura cry out,

"Senpai!"

All was silent, until...

"Man Fuji-nee, you hit as hard as ever, huh?"

Standing, Shirou turned to look at the woman next to him.

She had short brown hair, and brown eyes that conveyed a sense of excitement. In her hands was the Tora Shinai, a weapon that looks like a normal bamboo practice shinai, but truthfully houses the bloodlust of a tiger demon. It is feared by many, and wielded by the kendo master, Taiga Fujimura.

"Mou, I remember when such a hit would've knocked you clean out!"

Despite all of this, Taiga is actually a supremely childish individual. Although she operates as Shirou's 'big sister', he's really the one that takes care of her.

"Come on Fuji-nee. You still almost knocked me out..."

"Senpai, are you okay!?"

Before Shirou could move on, Sakura interrupted him with her worries.

"Yeah Sakura, I'm fine. It's just a little bump."

Believing he had calmed her worries, Shirou moved on, unaware of the conversation behind him.

"Fujimura-sensei! You shouldn't keep hitting Senpai so hard!"

"It's alright Sakura. You heard him, he's fine."

"Sensei, if you keep hitting Senpai so hard, me and the others will make less food for you!"

"Ack! S-Sakura, there's no need to do something so drastic! He'll be fine!"

Sweating from the harsh glare Sakura was giving her, Taiga acquiesced.

"Fine, fine, I won't hit him as hard."

Letting up on her glare, Sakura looked to where Shirou was before noticing his absence.

"S-Senpai!?"

Running down the hallway, Sakura chased after Shirou.

"W-Wait, Sakuraaaaa!"

Taiga then followed, waving her arms exaggeratedly .

* * *

Shirou was, meanwhile, back reminiscing. Thinking back on the day he had decided his path. The day Kiritsugu died.

The day he decided to become a Hero of Justice.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! This is Cee, your author! I just wanna say, I'm actually super-giddy seeing the amounts of Follows, Favourites, and Reviews I have. I didn't think I'd get that many until later. I also wanna say, this feels super-cringe writing, but the hypest thing reading, purely because I'm the author.**

**Another thing I wanna say (or ask), do any other authors have the problem of words disappearing during typing, or words duplicating themselves after pressing space? Because I'm being haunted by this particular ghost.**

**Third, If you're having trouble imagining Shirou's armlet, think Archer Emiya's sleeve.**

**Fourth, I'm almost certain I fucked up the tense, and I feel like a piece of scum for that but... I'm also a lazy bastard, so...**

**Fifth, I get the bad feeling I'm writing the characters poorly, or at least not as they should be.**

**Sixth, I feel like some of the things I'm saying are redundant, because I just said it.**

**Seventh, I'm trying out something different with the page breaks, as just doing the dashed-line doesn't appear on the Internet version of.**

**Eighth, this became too long again.**

**Thank you to AnonymousAuthor3, Aenoaxx, 98kazer, WooHyon, ToroSenkiTan, karma12, odjn, Tama001, Fei Shuki, genesicgaogaigarvsgodgundam, Okurin, Unlimited Emptiness, SIMON80420, 0404617, Iron2894, READER1O1O, AlterGrimm, PyruxDeltax, and facuf1997 for favouriting or following, and thank you to VGBlackwing, AnonymousAuthor3, 98kazer, HanKanoya, and Unlimited Emptiness for reviewing!**

**Goodbye.**


	3. At Least It Wasn't Marbles

It was a night like any other. The temperature was between warm and cold, just right for wearing a yukata. With the moon in the sky, it would've been a peaceful night to anyone.

Such was the case for Shirou Emiya. Recently, his adoptive father, Kiritsugu, had been staying outside on the porch more and more. He was also acting more tired.

Wanting to see his father, Shirou made his way to the back porch. Seeing the familiar hunched figure on the porch, Shirou made his way over and sat down.

Kiritsugu was looking upwards at the sky, with a faraway look in his eyes.

Without warning, he began to speak.

"When I was younger... I wanted to be a Hero of Justice."

Confused, Shirou wondered why Kiritsugu was talking about this, before looking upwards and thinking on his statement.

Kiritsugu wanted to be a Hero of Justice when he was younger...

Ever since Shirou was saved by Kiritsugu, he had wondered if he would be able to smile like he did on that day. In that pursuit, he had pestered Kiritsugu to explain to him about being a God Eater.

Being a, normally, reasonable adult, Kiritsugu refused, believing this would be enough to keep Shirou away from being a God Eater and let him have a normal life, at least until he was of age.

It was not.

Shirou pestered Kiritsugu again and again until Kiritsugu gave in and gave him a brief history of God Eaters and their duties. Believing this to be enough, Kiritsugu moved on.

However, Shirou continued to pester him, this time to learn how to fight with swords and guns and shields. Kiritsugu refused. Shirou asked again. Kiritsugu refused again.

This continued on for the next two years. Whenever the two weren't having a meal together, or "normal" father-son bonding, they were talking about whether Shirou should train or not.

After the two year long back and forth, Kiritsugu relented. That was when Taiga was introduced. She had been an occasional visitor for a while, but after listening in on a conversation on Shirou's schedule-to-be, she jumped in on it and offered to teach Shirou the way of the sword.

It was a tough process.

* * *

Taiga may have been training to become a school teacher, but she was awful at teaching kendo. She would go way too hard in training matches, being pulled along by the Tora Shinai's bloodlust and decimating the competition.

Shirou fell victim to this during the first few matches, before his inclination to bladework made itself known. It started as briefly deflecting strikes, to being able to block and even retaliate.

It was in one such match that Shirou felt that something was off. As if he was missing something. Closing his eyes, he thought on it, before an image flashed in his mind.

Of a man standing before him, his back, clothed in a crimson red, facing him, and in his hands were **two swords**, twin blades of black and white.

Snapping out of his revery, Shirou wondered on the vision, before looking towards the rack of practice shinai.

Feeling curious, he decided to grab another shinai.

The ensuing practice match against Taiga went poorly.

Of course, this was due to Shirou having never used two swords at once. But, if Shirou was a natural with one sword, then he was born to wield two. Using the dual blade style he had begun to develop that uses the opponents reflexes against them, he had been able to quickly overwhelm Taiga.

Now if only he had such luck with guns.

* * *

Kiritsugu had decided to take care of teaching Shirou how to use guns and shields. Shields were easy enough, it was just a matter of balance. Shirou could easily master that, as his fighting style requires him to be limber enough to move his arms and body towards and around multiple blows.

But guns were... bad.

The first time Shirou tried to use a gun, it seemed to spontaneously explode. The bullet had somehow jammed, while the gun loaded another bullet, causing the two to collide and explode.

The second time was better, as the bullet was able to get out of the gun, but not necessarily as desired. Instead of leaving through the gun hole, it blew straight out the side of the barrel.

The third time had the gun jamming again, but without any exploding.

The fourth time involved Shirou dropping the gun and it shooting a bullet into his left shoulder. Needless to say, that put him out of commission for a while, and Kiritsugu actually shelved using a gun.

It was around that time Shirou met Sakura, as Shirou was in the archery club at Kuromatsu Middle School with his friend at the time, Shinji, and Shinji asked Sakura to help Shirou out.

But that's a story for another time.

* * *

Breaking out of his nostalgia tangent, Shirou thought again on what Kiritsugu said, before...

"Wait. You _wanted_ to be a hero? Does that mean you don't want to anymore?"

Shirou was shocked. This man, his saviour, no longer wanted to be a hero. That means he didn't want to save people anymore, didn't it?

Kiritsugu, seeing the upset look on Shirou's face, chuckled dryly and responded.

"Well, being a Hero of Justice is a time limited thing. I'm too old now."

"Time limited, huh? I guess you can't be a hero anymore."

Kiritsugu nodded, and, if one looked closely, slightly frowned.

"If that's the case, then I'll become one for you."

Shirou looked at Kiritsugu with determination shining clear in his eyes. To Shirou, if he pursued this dream, then he may be able to one day smile like Kiritsugu did.

"What?"

Kiritsugu, for his part, looked shocked. Surely he heard that wrong. What did this boy, his son, just promise?

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'll become a Hero of Justice in your place."

But Kiritsugu didn't hear wrong. He heard a promise, a solemn vow, for this boy to head down the path he once travelled. He should feel horrified, he should feel disgusted, but instead he felt...

"Haha..."

Relief. Relief that the dream he once held wouldn't go to waste. And belief that this boy could possibly achieve the impossible dream he had believed in so long ago.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Shirou had never heard his father laugh so loud before. For a second, his face showed surprise, before he began to pout, believing Kiritsugu was mocking him.

"That's good! That's good... I guess I can rest now, huh..."

As Kiritsugu went silent, Shirou observed his father and saw the smile on his face, so similar, yet different, to the one he had when he saved him. Noticing Kiritsugu's lack of movement, Shirou nudged him and called,

"Kiritsugu?"

Receiving no response, Shirou silently stared at Kiritsugu, before leaning against him, promising to stay with him until the morning, and reaffirming the promise to fulfill his dream. He would not cry.

For Kiritsugu Emiya had died that night, with a smile on his face.

* * *

Shirou was yet again removed from his reminiscing by the smell of food. Nearing the dining room, Shirou reached for the doors before being interrupted by a message over the intercom.

"Can Shirou Emiya please report to the Director's office in 5 minutes? Repeat, can Shirou Emiya please report to the Director's office in 5 minutes?"

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Shirou turned around, making his way to the nearest elevator.

"What do you need now, Professor Sakaki?"

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, oh god I'm so sorry for what you just read. The general idea was to do what I've been doing, that is, a flashback, returning to the present, and adding some intrigue for the next chapter. I didn't mean to go off on a whole tangent right there about Shirou's training, but there it is, and I'm sorry, but I at least tried to make it funny with the gun thing.**

**Second, tense, I think it's still a problem, I'm not even sure if it's real or if I'm jumping at my own shadows.**

**Third, the announcement at the end, I wanted to make it like the ones that occurred in God Eater, but I couldn't remember how they went, and I didn't want to have to rewatch a playthrough to see what it was like, so I kinda just guessed, and went with the school intercom message.**

**Fourth, the AN isn't long, but the chapter sure is.**

**Thank you to theopomel, LuckySolace, HYDE-BESERKER, ToriSenkiTan, JohanPhantom, Cypher1221, nazarioneo, alpha95, and Richy Escorpy for favouriting or following, and thanks to Guts and Toes, mauraman3000, AnonymousAuthor3 again, Lionheart33, 98kazer again, and jairoesme for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	4. Shirou Is The Best Housewife, Pass It On

Standing in the elevator, with the energetic orchestra music playing in the background, Wolf's Howl if he remembers correctly, Shirou was going to the Laboratory floor. The reason he was going here rather than the Executive Section was because Director's Office was basically code for Professor Sakaki's Lab. With the amount of time he spends in there, it may as well be his bedroom too.

During the ride, Shirou wondered on what request Sakaki was going to ask of him this time.

During his time at Kuromatsu, Shirou had often gone around helping people out and fixing appliances. When he became a God Eater, this didn't change, and the person that took the most advantage of this was Sakaki.

Shirou shivered remembering the various artificial foods Sakaki had him try, and the various experiments that involved a lot of... well, being stabbed with various objects.

Hearing the ding that signals the elevators arrival, Shirou shook himself out of his bad memories and stepped out. Only to bump into...

"Waaah! Sorry, Shirou!"

Kanon Daiba. An old-type God Eater, and the "mascot" of the 4th unit. With pink hair and turquoise eyes, she was one of the many... "endowed" women of the Far East Branch.

She was also...

"Oh, Shirou! I've been practicing my gunwork today!"

An awful shot. Better than Shirou, as she could at least get the bullet out of the gun without shooting herself, but she still had a 50/50 chance of hitting the enemy or an ally.

"O-Oh, really? W-Who with?"

"Captain Haruomi of course!"

"Of course..."

Haruomi was a known pervert. That he would risk his life trying to help Kanon learn to shoot right just for his perverted ideals was not uncommon.

"Where is he now Kanon?"

"Oh. W-Well... I-uh-may have accidentally shot him during practice..."

To Shirou, that made perfect sense. She was likely here because she had just dropped Haruomi off. Shirou _was_ curious, as Kanon was here just as he was visiting Sakaki. But since the Infirmary was right next to Sakaki's lab...

"Well, it was nice seeing you Kanon. But I have a meeting with Doctor Sakaki right now. I'll try and visit Haruomi later."

"Oh, alright. See ya later, Shirou!"

Hearing Kanon enter the elevator, and giving a brief prayer for Haruomi as he passed the Infirmary, Shirou stood before Sakaki's lab.

Taking a deep breath, Shirou knocked on the door and, hearing the call to enter, opened the door.

"Ah Shirou! Good to see you! But you are around 200 seconds later than I expected. Are you alright?"

He was then greeted to the sight of an old man, likely in his 60's, with bushy gray hair and with glasses that rested snugly on the bridge of his nose, clicking away at a keyboard with a holographic screen.

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine. I was just talking to Kanon."

"Oh, that's right, Kanon dropped off good Haruomi at the Infirmary. Anyways Shirou, I have a request for you."

Gulping, Shirou responded.

"W-What is it?"

"I need you to go out and gather data for me. I've already registered the mission with Hibari, so just speak to her when you're ready."

Exhaling from the relief of not having to do another weird request, Shirou thought on his assigned task before asking,

"So what am I fighting Professor?"

"Oh, nothing much, just a Vajra and a Kongou."

Nodding, Shirou thought about the two. Vajras are a good match-up for him, as he's able to use their own reflexes against them. The Kongou might be a bit harder, but if he just attacks with his range-mode, he should be fine.

"Is it just me Professor?"

"If you don't mind. I want to gather some more data, and see how you've improved since last time."

"Alright then. Is that all?"

"Yes. Oh, and do be careful!"

"Alright. Goodbye, Professor Sakaki."

Leaving the room and heading for the elevator, Shirou thought on his assigned mission. It had been a while since he was last in the field. Although, that was more because everyone was trying to keep him off the field, rather than him taking a break. A Vajra and a Kongou should be a good workout.

Making his way out of the elevator and into the hub of the Den, Shirou walked down the stairs and towards the desk.

"Hey Shirou. You know, Sakura's pretty mad at you for ditching her."

The woman at the desk was Hibari Takeda, who had been the Far East Branch's Operator for a few years. She had red hair, of a similar shade to Shirou's own, and brown eyes. With a disapproving look on her face, she told Shirou the message.

"Haha. She's going to be even madder when she hears I'm skipping breakfast for a mission."

Shirou could only look away from the frigid glare he was receiving from Hibari and scratch his head.

Sighing, Hibari shook her head, muttering something about stupid sword maniacs, before looking sternly at Shirou and saying,

"You better come back without even a scratch on you! If you do, then I'll get the others to make less work for you to do."

"O-Okay. Yes, ma'am."

This is one of the best ways to force Shirou to do something. He loves doing work, especially cooking, but having it invaded? Having it taken from him? That's just plain evil.

Believing her point's been made, Hibari looked to her monitor, before telling Shirou he got the all-green.

Shirou thanked her, and moved back up the stairs, towards the Den's Gate.

Entering the God Arc Storage Area within, Shirou moved toward his own God Arc. Putting his armlet into the console, he gazed at his God Arc.

The twin blades, black and white, that can never be separated, adorned with the pink petals of a seven-layered shield.

His Unlimited Blade Works.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee, and this is different. Did you notice? No flashbacks this time. Also that last sentence. I'm not sure if I should explain it now, but Unlimited Blade Works is just the name of the overall God Arc, and not the individual parts. Also, just threw in a bunch of characters, and one other character because of a humorous review someone made. If you're confused as to where this is set, good. But since I'm not super mean, I'll say this is post-God Eater 2, but pre-God Eater 3.**

**Another thing, with more characters come more dialogue, and with more dialogue comes more personalities and speech quirks I don't remember. I should replay God Eater, but I ain't good enough at the game to just casually finish it again.**

**Third (fourth?), this chapter is actually really short, and I'm sorry about that. This took me like three hours to write. Is this normal? Other authors?**

**Fourth, I think I did alright with tense this time since there's no flashbacks. So yay.**

**Fifth, so I kinda retconned what I said last chapter with the Director's Office thing, thank you to the reviewer that said that, and I only ended up reading it after writing the chapter so... yeah. But it's fine, right guys?**

**Thank you to Persival, 4poker, and Grunido for favouriting or following, and thank you to HYDE-BESERKER, 98kazer again, Lionheart33, and jairoesme for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	5. E-Rank Luck and Maybe Wakame Paradise

The first time Shirou ever encountered an Aragami, he was a second year in Kuromatsu High.

It was during the first proper penetration of the Anti-Aragami wall that year.

Aragami hadn't been able to enter recently, as the Defense Team was always on-point with their extermination, and with the addition of the 4th Unit, were rarely overwhelmed. Not only that, but with the incorporation of various strong Aragami cores, including, but not limited to, Deusphages and Psions, the strength of the Anti-Aragami wall was easily able to keep most Aragami at bay.

But that day, the Aragami were somehow able to break through the front gate. It was only two Vajras, and 3 Kongous and Gboro-Gboros. Now, with the amount of people on the 3rd and 4th Unit, this leads to an almost 1 to 1 ratio between God Eaters and Aragami.

But, unknown to the God Eaters, some weak Ogretails had snuck through in the chaos.

* * *

That night, Shirou was doing a favour for his old friend Shinji. Cleaning the archery clubroom was what he was doing.

Shirou didn't join the archery club in high school, due to the belief that he had mastered archery in middle school. But after being dragged along with Shinji, he was introduced to the club as a prodigy, and was tested to see if he was worthy of the title.

Making all twenty bullseyes quickly put that discussion to rest.

After having to almost literally fight off the club members asking him to join or teach them, he promised that he would drop by every now and then (once a month) to brush up on the art and give advice to the others.

Moving on, Shinji told Shirou that his grandfather had asked him to come home early for an important discussion, and asked Shirou to help.

Shirou, already willing to help anyone, gladly agreed to aid his oldest friend.

So here he was, finishing up the dojo, before he stood to leave. But his attention was then taken by the sound of an explosion, and roaring.

Running out of the dojo, Shirou looked to the continued sounds of roaring only to see clouds of dust and blue glowing.

Without hesitating, Shirou ran towards the mayhem. After all, what if someone is in trouble? What if someone needs to be saved?

He'll be there. For that is his reason to continue on.

* * *

Now at this very moment, the Ogretails that entered the Outer Ghetto were on a collision course with Shirou Emiya. For this was Fate at work.

And E-Rank Luck.

* * *

Panting, as Shirou hadn't run that hard or that far _ever_, Shirou stopped, trying to gauge how far he was from the mayhem.

Seeing that he was only down the road from the ensuing battle, Shirou went to take a step, only to hear...

"Help! Help me!"

A cry for help to his right. A cry for help. _Help._

_Salvation._

And he was there. To _save _her.

To be a hero. A Hero of Justice.

Turning to his right, Shirou saw a woman in her late 40's with orange hair in a pink turtleneck. She was being confronted by two Ogretails.

Running towards them, Shirou reached out for a stray piece of wood to use as a weapon. Standing defensively in front of the woman, Shirou raised his makeshift-weapon and waited.

The ogretail to his left made the first move, rushing at him with its head lowered, to try and down him.

Waiting until the Ogretail was right in front of him, Shirou moved slightly to his right, and tilted his stick to the right to try and divert the Ogretail's charge.

Feeling the stick in his hand start to splinter, yet somehow miraculously stay whole, Shirou decided to quickly follow up by swinging his sword upward from underneath the Ogretail's tail.

Breaking the stick, but applying enough force in his strike to put the Ogretail on it's back, Shirou abandoned the broken remnants of his stick and reached for another weapon to continue his assault.

"Look out!"

Hearing the warning call from the woman behind him, he quickly rolled out of the way, seeing the other Ogretail land where he was originally standing.

With no weapons on hand or nearby, and facing two opponents, no, _Aragami_ at once, Shirou began to feel an old yet oddly familiar feeling in his heart. A feeling from ten years ago.

Feeling _desperation_ well up in his heart, desperation to save the woman, desperation to not die without saving at least _one _person, Shirou let out a battle cry and ran towards the Ogretails.

With no weapons and no plan, Shirou just did the first thing he thought of.

Feeling as if _someone _was laughing mockingly at him, Shirou raised his left fist and threw a punch toward the standing Ogretail.

As he threw the punch, Shirou felt a strange burning in his left wrist, underneath his armlet, and an odd thrumming in his arm.

When Shirou would later think on this moment, Shirou would state that, for a second, it appeared to him that his skin had burned a light brown around the armlet, and strange neon-green lines appeared on his arm.

When Shirou's fist landed against the Ogretail's tail, a weird phenomena occurred.

First, it felt as if all of Shirou's momentum leading up to the punch had been erased.

Second, a weird neon-green electric shock appeared around the point of impact.

Third, the tail's armour shattered and slammed against the Ogretail's body.

Fourth, the Ogretail went flying into the street Shirou came from.

Shocked, but not intending to waste his advantage, Shirou scrambled over to the other Ogretail and, hoping that that punch wasn't a one time deal, slammed his fist down on the Ogretail's head.

Good news, it wasn't.

Bad news, his left hand under the armlet had begun bleeding. Badly.

Ignoring that, Shirou looked over to the other Ogretail, only to see it being handled by a God Eater wielding a Knife God Arc.

Exhaling, and calming down from the adrenaline of battle, Shirou looked over to the woman to see if she was safe. Luckily, she was.

Walking over to her, Shirou stuck out his right hand and asked,

"Are you okay Miss?"

Seeming slightly dazed, she responded,

"Yes, I'm okay..."

Before she snapped out of it and half yelled,

"Wait, why are you asking me if I'm okay!? You're the one who fought those things! Are you okay!?"

Stunned by the woman's worry for him, Shirou took a second before responding,

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay. Thank you for asking."

"No. No, thank you. Thank you for saving me."

The woman declared these words with conviction. This boy had saved her, and he was thanking her for showing concern!? Honestly, he's kind of like her own little Kota. Even the hair and eyes are similar.

Shirou was shocked. No one had ever thanked him before. Well, they had, but that was for small things, and the thanks was obligatory. But this was someone he'd saved. Someone he had saved just thanked him.

_Him._

Feeling a small smile force itself onto his face, Shirou chuckled to himself and looked upwards.

Am I on my way to becoming a Hero of Justice, Kiritsugu? That's what he was thinking.

But before he knew it, he was interrupted by a painful feeling in his chest. Like someone had... stabbed... him...

Looking down, and seeing the jet black claw, covered in a crimson red liquid, sticking out of his chest, Shirou coughed up some blood.

Looking back up and seeing the horrified look on the woman's face, he tried to say something comforting, but only coughed up more blood.

Hearing some indistinct yelling behind him, now that he thinks about it, everything does sound quieter, Shirou attempted to look behind him, only to see...

A horrifying visage. Of a black tiger's face, covered in blood, with it's large fangs bared, ready to rip him to shreds.

In that instant, something changed in Shirou's disposition.

The God Eaters would claim an amateur got a second wind, while the woman would say it was like he was an entirely different person. But only the Vajra was able to see the change Shirou underwent.

As he clenched his hand on the Vajra's claw, and ripped it off, he turned to look the Vajra in the eyes.

The Vajra's eyes only showed fear, while Shirou's once kind golden eyes had changed to a cold steel grey.

Jamming the claw he ripped off into the Vajra's eye, and quickly pulling it out before the Vajra took it along with it's head as it flinched back onto it's hind legs, Shirou jumped, hard enough to crack the pavement, and stabbed the claw into the Vajra's chest, underneath where the core was placed, before punching it with his left hand, hard enough to crack the claw and force it into the Vajra's core.

Landing, Shirou walked away from the Vajra, toward the woman, before collapsing with a large spurt of blood coming out of the part of his wrist connected to the armlet, and the hole in his chest.

The Vajra itself collapsed onto it's back, and struggled to move it's limbs, before eventually falling silent and dying.

The last thing Shirou remembered was the worried cries of the woman, a burning in his left wrist, and a slightly annoyed feeling.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee, and I feel pretty good about this. This is my first time writing a proper fight scene, so I'm glad this went so well. Also, this chapter is the opposite if the last one, all flashback instead of all present. Now, some things to say. First, I guess Shinji isn't an asshole, or a bad person this time, so yay.**

**Second, Shirou actually successfully saved someone without tasting failure. And he was thanked for it. Revolutionary, huh? I feel that Shirou might actually have a good to in this story. Although, the possibility of something bad happening is still there. This is Fate after all.**

**Third, I told a reviewer that I would talk about Shirou's God Arc next chapter, and while I don't think that's wrong, I feel that most of next chapter is also going to be a flashback.**

**Fourth, when I mentioned the point this game is set in, a reviewer asked if this was set during Resonant Ops. I haven't played it, nor do I have any idea about the plot of it. After a brief search, I may mention a Divider (probably not), but I definitely won't be mentioning any characters, unless you guys can come up with a good reason for it.**

**Fifth, tense. Ya'll know the drill.**

**Thank you to ExienFrost290, and TeotakuFantasia for following, and thank you to mauraman3000 again, Lionheart33 again, 98kazer again, Kayen1024, and jairoesme again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	6. The Art of the Sword Fetish

The first thing Shirou saw was white.

Blinding white.

Turning his head, and feeling a crick as he did, the blinding white was juxtaposed by a figure dressed in bla... ck...

Wait a minute...

Blinking his eyes, Shirou saw that the room was more of a grey than white. And the figure themself was dressed up in white.

It was a man, maybe only a few years older than Shirou, with orange hair and a yellow bandana, and brown eyes. His outfit itself was a white sleeveless coat over a yellow singlet and orange pants.

Seeing that Shirou was awake, he jumped up.

"You're awake!"

Scrambling forward, he reached for Shirou's hand and asked,

"Are you okay!? You were really hurt when you were brought in!"

"I was... hurt?"

Shirou was confused as to what the man was talking about, before...

"Ah. That's right. I saved that woman... Is she okay sir?"

Shocked, the man looked at Shirou with his jaw dropped a little. This _kid _just woke up in a hospital after being extremely injured, yet is asking about the woman he had saved?

"Ah, yeah, she's fine. Actually she and I wanted to say thank you."

"Thank... you? Why would you want to thank me?"

"Because, the woman that you saved was my mom. So thank you."

Bowing, the man tried to express his gratitude. Like all of those times with Yuu...

Shirou was instead just shocked, again. This was the second time he had been thanked for saving someone. It was a strange feeling. It was a warm feeling.

Like... happi-

No. He wasn't allowed to feel like that.

Having to fight the growing smile on his face, Shirou responded,

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad she's safe."

Standing, the man still looked a little shocked, but just responded with a mumble.

"You really are like him..."

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, my name is Kota Fujiki, leader of the 1st Unit! Nice to meet ya!"

"Ah. My name is Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you too."

Smiling, Kota turned and began to leave, before calling out,

"Oh yeah! Miss Tsubaki and Professor Sasaki will be coming by later to talk to you about what happened, and..."

Taking a clear look at Shirou's left arm, Kota looked back to Shirou and continued.

"About your armlet. See ya."

Seeing Kota leave the room, Shirou looked upward and thought on what happened that night.

He remembered hearing the explosion. He remembered running there. He remembered seeing the woman, Kota's mom, calling for help.

He remembered fighting the Ogretails. He remembered his left arm acting strange.

He remembered defeating the Ogretails and talking to Kota's mom.

He remembered being impaled. He remembered seeing the expression on Kota's mom's face. He remembered turning to see the Aragami. He remembered the primal wrath and hunger in its expression.

He remembered...

What happened next?

It was fuzzy, but he remembers turning around to face it, then it standing on it's hind-legs, then landing and walking away and collapsing and hearing the Vajra collapse.

But what happened between those moments?

Before Shirou could pursue the line of thought, the sound of the door opening interrupted him.

"Shirou Emiya. Age: Estimated to be 17 years. Adopted by Kiritsugu Emiya after the fire that killed over 500 people living in the Outer Ghetto."

The voice was coming from a woman with long black hair and green eyes. On her wrist was an Armlet the same as Kiritsugu's, tape and all.

"Currently enrolled at Kuromatsu High as a second year. Archery club prodigy, and a 'genius' with bladework. Am I wrong?"

Shirou, for his part, was confused. Who was this woman? How did she know so much about him?

"Well? Answer me!"

"Y-Yes ma'am. That is all correct."

"Good. I am Tsubaki Amamiya. An Operator for Cradle. I will be asking you some questions. You will answer them. Understood?"

"Yes."

Shirou's initial impression of this woman was serious, to a scary degree. Sort of like Mister Kuzuki from Kuromatsu.

"First: When did you get that armlet?"

"I've had it since I first woke up after the fire."

"Second: Why are you not a registered God Eater?"

"I'm not sure. When I asked Kiritsugu when I would start, he said when I was of age."

"Third: How did you defeat those Aragami without a God Arc?"

"With the Ogretails, I remember flipping one Ogretail over with an attack from below. Then I punched the other into the street. I also punched the first one in the head, killing it. The other Ogretail was taken care of by a God Eater wielding a Knife God Arc. I can't remember what happened to the Vajra though."

"..."

Tsubaki was confused. This boy somehow beat three Aragami, all without a God Arc. That shouldn't be possible. She wouldn't believe it if the reports from the woman and the other God Eaters didn't corroborate this. But it seemed he didn't remember beating the Vajra. Likely an effect from the blood loss.

"...You're saying you punched the Aragami?"

"Yeah. I don't know how, but it worked well against the Ogretails. It caused my left arm to start bleeding a lot though."

"Your left arm? Where?"

"Here. At the wri...st..."

Shirou was confused. Wasn't his left arm bleeding after he punched the Aragami? Shouldn't there at least be a scab or something?

"N-Nevermind. I must have been hallucinating."

"Hm. Alright. Next que-"

"If you don't mind, Miss Tsubaki, I think I'd like to talk to our resident mystery God Eater."

Before Tsubaki could continue, an old man popped his head through the door. This old man was...

"D-Director Sakaki! I thought I still had more time!"

"Sorry Miss Tsubaki. I guess you two were just talking too long."

With a mischievous grin, Sakaki delivered that line.

Shaking slightly with rage, before breathing deeply and standing, Tsubaki turned to leave past Sakaki. Before she left, however, she turned to Shirou and said,

"Emiya. I expect you to perform admirably when you eventually become a God Eater."

After Tsubaki left, Sakaki walked towards Shirou and began to mumble.

"Interesting. Truly interesting. How does his body operate with those Oracle Cells as a part of him? They were supposed to overwhelm anyone infected with them. What did you do Kiritsugu?"

"I'm sorry, did you know my father?"

Sakaki was surprised, forgetting that Shirou was there, too busy investigating his armlet.

"Oh, yes. He was actually a top God Eater for the short time he was a part of the Far East Branch. Me and him used to talk about Oracle Cells and their effect on Aragami and people. Oh, excuse my manners. My name is Paylor Sakaki, Acting Director of Fenrir's Far East Branch. Although, I still like to think of myself as a researcher at heart."

Shirou was surprised. Aside from talking about God Eaters and his own dream, Kiritsugu never mentioned his past. It was surprising he was friends with someone so... oddly energetic.

"Kiritsugu actually told me a lot about you, before he... passed."

Really? Kiritsugu did? Kiritsugu 'I'm-not-going-outside-to-make-friends-aside-from-going-to-somewhere-I-won't-tell-you' Emiya? Had a friend he would call from time to time?

"Don't you remember me from the funeral? I remember talking to you."

"Sorry. I wasn't really paying much attention around that time."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

An awkward silence ensued.

"Kiritsugu told me that you wanted to be a God Eater. So he asked me to help make a God Arc for you."

"Really? But Kiritsugu was against me being a God Eater. Why would he have you make me a God Arc?"

If the two year back and forth about learning how to fight, and even the year of refusing to tell him about God Eaters was anything to go by, then yes, Kiritsugu was against Shirou being a God Eater. But apparently...

"Kiritsugu said that it was inevitable for you to become a God Eater. He just wanted to make the process easier."

Shirou didn't know how to feel. Various feelings were flowing through him, but he just decided to focus on gratitude.

"Would you like to see it?"

With a small smile, Shirou responded,

"Yes, please."

* * *

Exiting the elevator on the Laboratory floor, Shirou and Sakaki turned to the door on the left. The Engineering room.

Within was a table with a lump underneath a white sheet, and a girl with grey hair.

Turning, the girl looked at the pair before focusing on Shirou.

"So you're who this God Arc is for?"

The girl had dirt on her face and was wearing a grey tank top and green overalls.

"Now, now Licca, is that anyway to introduce yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah. The name's Licca Kusunoki, God Arc Engineer extraordinaire. Me and the professor worked on your God Arc. This baby was almost entirely made of prototype parts."

"Prototype parts?"

What could that mean? New types of parts for the different classes?

"It'd be better if you saw."

So saying, she then turned away and reached out for the white sheet. Grabbing it, she then removed it with a flourish.

Underneath were the most beautiful weapons Shirou had ever seen, even if that wasn't a lot.

Two blades, one black and one white, with red markings going up both the blades. With a gap in the blades near the hilt, the eyes are then drawn to the petal-like crossguard. A bright pink, with both blades having what appears to be 3 and a half petals. At the bottom of the swords, the handles were a jet black, having an odd shape, both of them appearing to be able to connect.

"These are the worlds first dual blade God Arcs. The functional name for this type of God Arc part is still being decided upon, but most are for Biting Edge. Well go on. Grab them."

Reaching out, Shirou grabbed both blades by their handles and pulled them toward himself. Instinctively moving them into his sword stance, Shirou felt the God Arcs reacting. Tendrils from underneath the flower-petals, coming from the black, organic core glowing a neon-green, reached for his Armlet, and slipped in underneath the metallic oval.

Feeling a rush of energy from the tendrils, Shirou tried some test swings to get used to the weight of the blades.

"How are they?"

Looking to Sakaki, Shirou thought about it, before saying honestly,

"They're great. Like they've always been a part of me."

"That was the idea. Would you like to take them for a test drive?"

"Gladly."

"Then just leave the God Arc there. It needs to be tuned to get used to your Bias Factor."

Reluctantly, Shirou released the blades that felt like he had been using them forever.

"Alright."

"Let's go Shirou. I'll take you to the training room."

***Page Break***

Entering the large, empty, dodecagon room, Shirou investigated his surroundings. Mainly made of concrete, slabs laid out regularly on the floor, and walls covered in several holes. In the centre of the room was a metal square, with a square of light being projected.

Holding his recently-tuned God Arc, Shirou waited for Sakaki's instructions.

"Ah, sorry for making you wait Shirou."

"Don't worry about it Doctor Sakaki."

"Alright then. First, let's gauge your physical ability. I'll send one Ogretail after you. Do whatever feels natural."

As the Ogretail appeared, Shirou took his combat stance. Back straight, with his arms slightly bent and aiming his blades upward. Waiting for the Ogretail to make the first strike.

The Ogretail leapt, and Shirou's left blade rose to meet it. Catching on the Ogretail's feet, Shirou forced his blade upwards, causing the Ogretail to go flying. Running toward where the Ogretail was going to land, Shirou jumped to intercept it, crossing his blades to deliver a cross-slash.

Slicing it in half, Shirou landed crouched, before hearing the corpse land, and standing upright.

"Good job Shirou. Now try and devour it."

"Devour?"

"Try squeezing the handle with the _intent _to devour."

"A-Alright."

Closing his eyes, and focusing on the intent to devour, whatever that could mean, Shirou stepped forward and thrust out his arm. At the same moment, the black mass from the Arc burst out and around the blade as a giant horrific monster, and bit into the Aragami.

Shirou was feeling double. As his God Arc was biting into the enemy, he could feel it too. His mouth felt like it was gnawing and pulling, and being filled with blood, but after checking, he noticed that his mouth was perfectly fine.

"Shirou? Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. What's next?"

"Next is the ranged equipment."

"Uh, Doctor, I don't think that's a good idea. I don't... have the greatest luck with guns."

Chuckling, Sakaki replied,

"I know. Kiritsugu told me about it. But he also told me you were quite good with a bow, aren't you?"

"I would say that, yes."

"Then there you go. First, bring your blades hilts together. Then, connect them and twist."

Following his instructions, Shirou connected the hilts and twisted, before the blades seemed to shrink and the hilts grew and curved to be almost as tall as Shirou. The odd shape of the blade handles was actually to act as the handle for the bow, with a handguard. Between the gaps in the blades, a string of neon-green energy connected between the two.

"Your God Arc is actually the second Bow type, but it functions differently to that one. The bow God Arc uses Oracle energy to shoot projectiles, which appear as you draw back the bowstring. Now, I'll summon another Ogretail, and you fire."

So saying, another Ogretail appeared.

Dashing backwards, Shirou took the archery stance he learned in his club. Kyudo. Breathing, and focusing on the reality he's going to make happen, Shirou pulls back and releases the bowstring, landing a shot straight through the head, before it lightly exploded.

"Alright, good, good, well within expectations. Now then Shirou, let us try out your shield."

"My... shield?"

"Surely you've noticed it. It's the most obvious part of your God Arc!"

"Wait, do you mean...?"

"Yup! Those flower petals are apart of our latest type of shield. Now then, to make it appear, place your God Arcs side by side, with the backs of the blade facing each other. Connect them with the small hook behind the petals, then twist the handles again."

Following the instructions, Shirou twisted the handles. To him, it appeared as if the blades had shrunk again, but this time the flower petals grew. Adding to his surprise, the seven petals, as the two half petals connected into one, moved away from the base of the shield. They were moved by long black tendrils full of glowing neon-green veins, connecting the petals and base. Then, a humming followed, before a pink field surrounded the entire extended God Arc, going well over Shirou's own body.

"That shield is charged using your Oracle energy as well. There is a way to deploy it as a normal Tower Shield, but we can talk on that later. For now, I'll release another Aragami."

A third Ogretail appeared and wasted no time attacking Shirou's shield. As the Ogretail struck the shield, Shirou felt no impact, and didn't even feel tired from the attack.

Watching the Ogretail bounce off, Shirou quickly disengaged the shield by pulling the God Arcs in opposite directions, one upwards and one downwards.

After successfully disengaging the shield, with the tendrils quickly reeling themselves and the petals back in, Shirou rushed forward to slice apart the Ogretail. With a downward right swing, followed by a left swing sideways, the Ogretail fell.

"That was good work out there Shirou! How do you feel?"

Panting slightly from the slight running, and the slight adrenaline rush, and the use of his Oracle energy, Shirou responded,

"I feel fine. A bit tired though."

"Oh, well I guess we have been here a while. Let's take you back to the Engineering room, okay?"

"Sure. That sounds fine."

* * *

Back in the Engineering room, Shirou was sitting down resting, while Licca and Sakaki were talking on his results.

But as they were talking, one question started to weigh heavily on Shirou's mind, before he decided to voice it.

"What are the names of these weapons?"

Stopping, the two engineering nuts looked at Shirou confused, before looking at the God Arc.

"Well, the Biting Edge parts are called Kanshou and Bakuya. Based off of the twin swords made by the Chinese blacksmith. The Shield part is called Rho Aias, named after the shield of Aias the Great, which was able to stop a weapon that had never been stopped before. The Bow part is just a Nameless Black Bow."

Licca said, looking confused at the question.

"Yeah, but, what's the name of the God Arc?"

"It's name?"

"Yeah. All great weapons have names."

"Well... it doesn't have one. Why don't you name it?"

"Hm..."

Shirou thought on it. This weapon, this God Arc, was going to be his partner during his journey as a God Eater. It deserved a name. One that belonged to it and it alone.

Once again, like it happened years ago, Shirou saw a flash.

A flash of a man, kneeling in a desert plain full of swords. He seemed to be saying some type of chant, but the words were going by too fast. But Shirou was able to pick up on one line.

**"So as I pray..."**

"...Unlimited Blade Works."

"What?"

"I would like to name this God Arc, Unlimited Blade Works."

"Weird name, but alright."

Smiling slightly at his God Arc, Shirou said,

"We're going to get along great, partner."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and oh God this was long. Now, someone told me that my story was boring, and to you I say, sorry. I'm sorry that I'm the only person who has written a GE/Fate crossover, and I'm sorry it's not interesting to you. I'm sorry you don't like the concept, which people seem to, and I'm sorry you don't like how most of the beginning is a rehash of Fate/Stay Night. But I thought it was necessary. Stuff should start changing around now though. But I'm annoyed you think I don't know when God Eater is set. I already knew it was set in the 70's. Dumbass. Anyways, ****characterization of Licca feels off, Kota's here, yes that was Kota's mom if it wasn't obvious.**

**Second, now with this, the "canon" of Fate is mine to command because it's just the "characters" in GE's world. But God Eater's canon matters. So if it looks like I'm doing something that goes against canon, please tell me. Thank you.**

**Third, we should be back in the present next chapter. Also this was too long.**

**Thank you to Julianrex, and Kayen1024 for reviewing. I guess I can thank the Guest for taking the time and effort to tell me that they didn't like my story. And again, I'm sorry you're reading my boring GE/Fate story instead of someone else's because this is the onl y one that exists.**

**Goodbye.**


	7. Shirou Says, Where We Dropping?

"Hey, Mister Shirou. We're at the drop zone."

Snapping out of his reminiscing, Shirou looked over to the pilot of the helicopter he was on.

Wearing a helmet and flight goggles over his face, and in an army camo bodysuit, not much could be seen about the pilot's appearance. Beyond his lower face, which is clean-shaven, and his clearly masculine voice, there is nothing to really make him stand out.

Standing, Shirou apologized.

"Ah. Sorry, I was taking a nap."

"No worries. You sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"Ah, yeah. It'll be a nice workout after not fighting for so long."

Looking positively gobsmacked at Shirou's statement, the pilot just watched as Shirou moved to his God Arc. Standing at the door, Shirou asked,

"So you'll be back in ten minutes?"

"T-Ten minutes? Isn't that too short?"

"No. Ten minutes will be more than enough."

Jumping out of the helicopter, and landing hard enough to rupture the ground, Shirou looked around the area he found himself in. A familiar place.

The Wailing Plains.

Some of his most important battles, battles that moulded who he was now, occurred in this place.

Before Shirou could start reminiscing, _again_, the crackle of his earpiece caught his attention.

"Testing, testing, can you hear me, Shirou?"

"Hibari? Are you my Operator for today?"

"Yup. Okay Shirou, today you'll be fighting a Vajra and a Kongou. The Vajra should appear first, and the Kongou should appear in five minutes."

"Alright then."

Taking point at Point H, Shirou stood and waited for the Vajra to appear.

After maybe 30 seconds, the earpiece crackled again.

"The Vajra has appeared at Point C. Please move to intercept. And be careful, alright?"

"Okay Hibari."

Turning to his left, Shirou moved at a steady jog until he was within eyesight of the Vajra.

The Vajra, noticing Shirou, stopped, before turning to face him and tensed its legs.

On an invisible signal, the two ran at each other.

The Vajra pounced, trying to crush Shirou. Shirou sprinted at his max speed to get underneath the Vajra.

With the Vajra landing, both turned to face each other. The Vajra howled and summoned balls of electricity to fire at Shirou. Shirou ran straight at the Vajra.

The Vajra fired, and Shirou hopped over the shots coming his way.

Being within striking distance of each other, the Vajra made the first move, swiping at Shirou with its left claw. Shirou parried the blow with his right blade, Bakuya, and sliced downward at the Vajra's face with his left blade, Kanshou.

Scoring a shallow cut against the Vajra, and heavily injuring its left eye, Shirou continued by slashing Bakuya to the left, against the Vajra's nose, and causing it to flinch backwards, onto its hind-legs. Taking advantage of this, Shirou ran underneath the Vajra's legs, and, facing the back of the Vajra, began striking the Vajra's hind-leg.

A right slash from Bakuya, a downward slash from Kanshou, a thrust into the ankle of the Vajra with Bakuya, and then a dashing cross-slash with both blades, bringing him back in front of the Vajra.

Hearing the familiar breaking of an Aragami's bond, Shirou turned to see the Vajra fallen onto its stomach, struggling to stand.

Shirou continued to chain attacks together against the Vajra's head, until it stood back up and, with a roar, created a dome of static electricity.

Shirou, recognising the attack, started to jump backwards before he could get shocked.

With another roar, the dome of static electricity turned into a dome of glowing blue electricity, hot enough to scorch the ground a little.

Pouncing out of the dome to try and surprise the prey it was fighting, it was only faced with that same prey on one knee, with a long black bow in hand. The next thing it knew, there was a stinging pain in its head, where its eye once was, before losing all sense of feeling in the ensuing explosion.

Shirou stood up with a sigh, relieved he had beaten the Vajra without damage, but annoyed he had to use some of his Oracle energy to beat the Vajra.

The earpiece crackled.

"Good job Shirou. Now you just need to wait for the-- Wait, what!? Nevermind, the Kongou is entering the field early! Please move to intercept."

"Where is it?"

"Point F."

"Alright."

Reorienting himself so he was facing North, Shirou moved forward, then turned right and continued on. Stopping before the Kongou's active hearing range, Shirou crouched and, having kept his God Arc in Bow form, aimed at the Kongou.

Aiming for the Kongou's red face, Shirou drew back his bowstring and, focusing, released, before quickly doing it twice more, landing three arrows all around the Kongou's left eye.

Before the Kongou could react, the arrows exploded, breaking the bonds in its face.

As the Kongou collapsed, holding its face, Shirou then took aim again, this time at the red airhorns on its back. Repeating the same process and breaking the bonds in its airhorns, Shirou stood up and rushed forward, unattaching his blades and reverting them to their usual length.

Jumping upward, Shirou then brought both his blades downwards, piercing deeply into the Kongou's head, before ripping his blades out of its head.

The Kongou, heavily injured, stood onto all fours shakily, and, in a last ditch effort, tried to spin around in a spin attack, but was unable to reach the proper speed.

Shirou slashed his blade against the Kongou in the opposite direction, causing it to stumble onto its side, panting heavily.

Raising both his blades, Shirou ended the Kongou's suffering, severing its head.

With a sigh, he looked down on his God Arcs, covered in blood, before tiliting his head.

"Are you hungry? Alright."

Thrusting forward, Shirou caused Bakuya to enter Devour mode and bite into the Kongou's corpse.

A crackle.

"Good work today Shirou. The Doctor will be happy with your results. The helicopter should arrive in a few minutes."

"Alright, thank you."

Sensing his God Arcs still being slightly hungry, he ran back to Point C, hoping the Vajra's corpse was still there. Luckily, it was, but it was close to disappearing. Hurrying, Shirou thrust forward with Kanshou this time, and devoured the Vajra corpse.

With his God Arcs satisfied, and nothing to do, Shirou decided to forage for ingredients to help the Engineers.

After a few minutes, the helicopter returned, and with it, a message from Hibari.

"Come back to base, Shirou. Sakura's pretty mad at you, ya know?"

Sweating, Shirou responded,

"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to that conversation."

"And your little sister too."

Ah, that's right. Illya.

***Page Break***

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and I had a revelation. I'm going to write and finish this story to the best of my ability, but it's not going to be a great story. It's a train wreck that is born of me having to put all of my ideas together into a comprehensible fashion. Lower your expectations. Stick around, but lower them. Now then, fighting is nice, the pilot's kind of a person, tense is probably fine.** **This is shorter then last chapter. Sorry.**

**Second, if you want images of the God Arcs in all three modes, I'll probably post them somewhere then leave a link on one of the next chapters.**

**Third, so yeah, Illya. I know I said that I was done copying the plot of Stay Night but, that's a half lie.**

**Fourth, Shirou talks to his God Arcs. This is an idea I got from a review, since they're swords, and Shirou's emphatic to swords.**

**Thank you to sawtooth44, Nonexistant Existence, nextss6, altron15, and Tama001 for favouriting or following, and thank you to jairoesme again, sawtooth44, 98kazer again, Kayen1024, and Lionheart33 again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	8. First Mission and (Maybe) Best Boi

The first time Shirou met Illya, he had, through a bizarre series of events, been roped into going on a training mission as a God Eater-in training.

It went something like...

***Page Break***

"Heeeeeey, Shirooooou! There's a weird letter for yooooou!"

Such was the first thing Shirou heard when he stepped out of the kitchen after making breakfast. Taiga was standing at the door waving the letter around with far too much energy for the morning.

"A letter for me? Are you sure Fuji-nee?"

"Yup! It says 'Shirou Emiya' in the receiver section."

"Who's it from then?"

Bringing the letter right up to her face, Taiga responded,

"Someone named... Paylor... Sakaki? Who's that Shirou?"

Making an 'ah' expression, Shirou told Taiga,

"He's an old friend of Kiritsugu's back in his God Eater days. Would you mind handing it to me?"

"Sure. What's for breakfast Shirou? And where's Sakura?"

Grabbing the letter, Shirou looked at it before turning back to the kitchen, saying over his shoulder,

"Nothing much, just some eggs and rice. Sakura told me that she would be busy helping Shinji and her grandfather with something."

"Oh, alright."

Then, after a nice meal and a rushed goodbye, as Taiga was late, Shirou sat down at the table and opened the letter.

_Greetings Shirou,_

_I would like to formally extend to you the opportunity to go on an expedition with another God Eater to get used to live combat._

_On an informal note, I would love it if you accepted. Then I would be able to gather some data on your new God Arcs, and your resonance rate._

_The mission will occur after school hours. Just arrive at the Den by 6pm, and show the guards this letter when you get there._

_The God Eater you'll be working with already knows your appearance, so don't worry about finding them._

_Sincerely, Paylor Sakaki._

Sighing after reading the letter, Shirou thought on its contents, before standing and deciding to think on it at school.

***Page Break***

It actually didn't take that long for him to convince himself. Once he thought on this being his training for his future as a God Eater, and on how that would bring him closer to his dream, he was sold.

Standing in the Den, between the elevator and the terminals so as to be out of the way, Shirou looked on the other God Eaters with interest.

They all had the standard black and red armlet, and all, for the most part, looked Japanese, but that's where the similarities end. They were all wearing strange and different outfits, and had bizarre hair colours. Luckily, he was able to blend in, despite his chilli red hair and his school uniform.

However, his anonymity had been ruined by...

"Hey, Shirou! Looks like I'll be taking you on your training mission, huh?"

Kota?

"Captain Kota, is that you?"

Grinning, with his hands held behind his head, Kota walked up to Shirou and responded,

"Yup, it's me. Just call me Kota, alright?"

Shirou, still stunned at seeing someone familiar, took a while before saying,

"Alright. So, what are we doing?"

"Doctor Sakaki didn't tell you? Me and you are going out to fight some Ogretails and Cocoon Maidens."

"Cocoon Maidens?"

"You haven't seen them? They're really easy, but dangerous if you're being lazy. Anyway, to accept a mission, you need to come down the stairs and talk to our local Operator savaunt, Hibari Takeda."

Pointing at a woman with red hair, a darker shade than Shirou's own, Kota began to drag Shirou down the stairs.

Stopping in front of Hibari, Kota let go of Shirou and pushed him forward.

Hibari, hearing the scuffling noises, looked up from her monitor to see Shirou and Kota standing before her.

"Can I help you?"

Shirou, looking back to Kota, then to Hibari, said,

"I'm here to accept a mission for me and Kota from Doctor Sakaki?"

Hibari raised a brow, before looking back to her monitor and, as Kota whispered, "Why are you asking?", Hibari looked back up and said,

"Oh, you must be Shirou. Yeah, Doctor Sakaki listed a mission for you two. Will you be going now? If so, then be careful."

Nodding, Kota grabbed Shirou and dragged him up the stairs, calling over his shoulder,

"Thanks Hibari! We will!"

Making their way into the Den Gate, they both grabbed their God Arcs, Kota taking out a giant orange gun, while Shirou grabbed his own dual blades from a terminal next to Kota's.

"Now we just gotta wait for dispatch. So Shirou, why don't you tell me about your God Arc? It sure looks unique."

Taking a deep breath, Shirou began,

"Well, you see..."

***Page Break***

Getting out of their jeep driven by a plain-looking man in a white shirt and green cargo pants, Shirou and Kota looked around before entering the city.

Gesturing, Kota said,

"Welcome to the City of Mercy."

It was a graveyard of humanity. Giant skyscrapers that once pierced the heavens, now reduced to hollow masses of glass and metal full of holes, and roads once teeming with people, now just empty paths, full of broken-cars and covered in damage.

"Come on, Shirou, we need to get to our vantage point."

Shaking out of his sorrowful musing, Shirou asked,

"Vantage point?"

"Yeah, it's where we normally start the mission. Normally we just wait there until the mission begins."

"Alright. Then shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

***Page Break***

The two were sitting on the edge of the cliff overlooking the City of Mercy. With Kota waving both his legs over the edge, and Shirou just sitting cross-legged, the two shared some conversation as they waited, including hobbies, favourite colours, and Kota's mom.

With a crackle, Hibari's voice tuned in.

"Alright you two, the Aragami should be appearing soon at out the front of the Church, at Points F and E."

"Alright, thank you Hibari. Come on Shirou, let's get ready."

"Alright."

Standing, the two did some light stretches, before grabbing their God Arcs and facing the city.

Crackle.

"Okay, you two. The operation is beginning now. Stay safe out there."

With a final crackle, the two ran to jump off the cliff.

"All right, I'm ready... I'll give 'em a right! Then a left! Then the ol' one-two combo!"

"Let's go! Trace-On!"

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, calm down, those were just mission beginning quotes. Shirou ain't gonna start tracing swords. Maybe. Sorry it's so short, I'm just tired, and need to think up a good way Shirou can meet Illya, so yeah, next chapter is also a flashback. I also need to decide if I should include a fight-scene or not.**

**Second, I'm still sorry for this being short, but I wanna play videogames, ya know****?**

**Thank you to Killroy122496 and Alphajaguar for following or favouriting, and thank you to mauraman3000 again, Kayen1024 again, sawtooth44 again, and jairoesme again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	9. At Least She Isn't Trying To Kill Us

"Good work out there, Shirou! You're a natural!"

Scratching his cheek from embarrassment, Shirou looked away and responded,

"No, I'm not. Didn't you see me with that Cocoon Maiden? I was too reckless."

Kota, shaking his head, responded,

"Yeah, but did you see yourself out there? After you stayed too close and it was about to attack, you immediately dodged around every spike!"

"I-I mean yeah, but..."

"No buts. You still did well, and you should feel proud. Not only do you have good instincts, you also work well in a team. You opened up enemies for me to finish, and don't say you didn't."

Actually blushing a little from how much praise he was getting, Shirou walked ahead of Kota towards their pick-up point.

"No, Kota, you're overexaggerating."

Catching up to Shirou, he smirked and childishly countered,

"No I'm not."

"Be quiet."

"But, I'm no-"

Putting his hand on Kota's mouth, Shirou whispered,

"No. Listen."

No longer walking, and turning their heads left and right, Shirou and Kota tried to listen for what Shirou heard.

It was faint, but one could hear it.

The sound of quiet sobbing.

Looking at each other, Shirou and Kota nodded at the other before running in the direction of the crying.

***Page Break***

It was a four-story building, covered in broken windows and made of dilapidated brick.

Entering through the ajar front door, Shirou and Kota looked about warily.

The interior of the building was as bad as the outside. With a carpet that may have once been a velvet red, and lots of dry blood stains all over the place, the two figured this must have been one of those hotels they had heard about.

Whispering, Kota said,

"Hey, if this is a hotel, then there must be stairs that lead up further in, right? That's what I saw in Bugarally at least."

"Bugarally? You know what, nevermind. Lead the way."

Saying such, Shirou let Kota go on ahead. Passing through a broken-down double door, they were then introduced to the sight of a dusty hallway leading to a staircase at the end.

Hearing the sobbing continue from above them, they then made there way up the extraordinarily creaky stairs that almost gave way under the weight of them and their God Arcs after having not been in proper use for so long. Something Shirou noticed, but decided not to mention was the existence of small footprints on the dusty stairs, belonging to a little girl.

Reaching the second floor, Shirou and Kota were confronted with a crossroads.

Kota gestured to himself then the left path, then gestured to Shirou and the right path.

Nodding, Shirou then walked down the path. Looking left and right, constantly watching for anything to attack him, waiting for a reason to just rush to the crying girl, and comfort her and tell her it'll be alright.

Making it to the end of the hallway, and meeting up with Kota, they then made their way up the stairs. The sound of crying was louder on this floor. The two then took that as a sign that the girl was on this floor.

Luckily, this floor only had one, extra wide path. Unluckily, the sound of crying had stopped. Taking the path two-abreast, Shirou and Kota started walking down the path, trying the doors they past, until eventually...

"Hey Shirou. This door is already open."

Shirou, already right next to Kota after being called, looked at the door and nodded his head, ready for whatever happened next.

"Alright, I'm opening it."

So saying, Kota slowly pushed the door open, tensed for action.

What they saw beyond the door was...

"Is she asleep?"

A girl lying on her side, white hair splayed around her, not moving at all beyond breathing slightly.

Shirou, moving forward beyond Kota, knelt down next to the little girl and lightly shook her shoulder.

"Hey, little girl, wake up please."

Muttering, the girl turned to-and-fro, before raising her head and opening her eyes, revealing them to be ruby red, and her sclera being a slight-red, as if she had recently cried. Her pale face was also tear-stained.

"Mmmm. O-Onii-chan?"

Her expression was one of confusion, before she looked around. Then it turned into one of nearly abject terror.

"O-Onii-chan? Are you here to take me back? Back to them?"

Shirou had reached out to try and offer the girl comfort, before she flinched back and began to shuffle away. Turning his head in confusion, Shirou asked, with a hint of worry,

"Them? Who are you talking about? Are you okay?"

Shivering and shaking her head, the girl started crying again, and began to scream,

"Stay away! Stay away! Stay away stay away stay away stay away stay away stayaway stayaway stayaway stayaway stayawaystayawaystayawaystayawaystayaway! STAY AWAY!"

Then suddenly, a crashing from above was heard, before the roof above them broke and an Aragami fell in.

The Aragami was blue, with an almost human-like appearance to it.

Sariel, Shirou realized in the back of his mind.

Seeing it lunge for the white-haired girl, Shirou ran to intercept them, dropping his God Arcs to get to her faster.

Standing between her and the Aragami, Shirou raised his hands in an attempt to defend.

But before he could do anything, balls of Oracle energy appeared behind him, then extended into beams that pierced his right side through the lung, waist, knee, and wrist.

Staggering, before falling to his right knee, Shirou looked up to see if the girl were safe, only to see her shocked face. The face of someone that forgot what it felt like to be protected. The thought pushed him into a frenzy of wanting to protect this girl.

Wanting to _save_ this girl.

Smiling at her, Shirou forced himself back to his feet, before raising his left hand.

"Shirou!"

Kota yelled, before aiming his God Arc at the Sariel and firing. Bullets flew out of his God Arc, striking the Sariel. The Sariel then turned toward Kota, moved slightly past Shirou, then twirled, releasing a wave of Oracle energy, which then formed into Oracle beams.

The beams zoomed right for Kota, who then rolled out of the way before taking more shots. As he was doing this, Shirou had begun to change.

A pulse echoed out of his armlet, causing it to glow green out of the metal shell. At the same time, a green glow appeared out of the Aragami in Bakuya.

Immediately after, Shirou's left arm, underneath his bracelet, started to burn, the skin turning a tan, with green veins working their way up his arm and down his hand.

Then, Bakuya seemed to shift slightly, before moving closer and closer to Shirou. Suddenly, it jumped into his hand, and a tendril spread from the God Arc into the Armlet. The tendril itself began to have green veins appear up and down its length.

"O-Onii-chan?"

The white-haired girl was witness to all of this, and had begun to worry when this boy had taken a mortal wound for her. For _her_. But seeing him stand as if the wounds he had sustained, and the bleeding he was experiencing from those wounds and from his rapidly changing wrist were nothing, was both terrifying yet awe-inspiring.

As if he were some hero from a fairytale.

Looking down at her, Shirou smiled, saying,

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Before looking back up to the Sariel, who was still being occupied by Kota, with his steel grey eyes.

Taking one step, putting him well within the range to attack the Sariel, Shirou pulled back his left arm before thrusting forward, Bakuya piercing the Sariel's back, before squeezing the handle, causing it to go into Devour mode.

With the large black head of the God Arc forming around the Sariel, it then closed it's jaws on the Sariel, piercing into it and refusing to let go.

As the Sariel struggled, Shirou looked Kota directly in the eyes, from beyond the Sariel, and told him,

"Kota. Finish it."

Nodding, Kota switched his God Arc's bullet from Normal to a special one he had cooked up with help from Ciel.

Pressing the trigger, the bullet shot out, piercing the Sariel, before shooting back out of the Sariel and back in. This repeated several times, before the bullet faded. Before it could however, Kota continued shooting his bullets at different parts if the Sariel, until he finally ran out.

As the bullets pierced the Sariel continuously, it broke several of its bonds including the head, legs, and skirt.

As the bullets faded, the Sariel was barely clinging to life.

"Damnit! It wasn't enough!"

As Kota said that, a slight chuckle filled the air, before Shirou responded,

"No Kota. You did more than enough. Let's finish this. Devour her, Unlimited Blade Works!"

The God Arc then began to clench its jaws together, now being able to easily tear through the Sariel due to its weakened bonds.

Clenching harder, the Sariel began to scream before it was ripped on two.

Panting, as the Sariel's corpse fell to the floor, Shirou then nodded to Kota, before dropping Bakuya and collapsing.

"Shirou!"

"Onii-chan!"

The last thing Shirou felt was a sense of satisfaction, relief, and an oddly soothing feeling pouring through his body.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, okay, I caught a second wind, was slightly desperate to think of a way to put Illya into this, and here we are. If I don't put it in post-editing, Illya is wearing a white hospital gown in this. **

**Second, that bullet Kota used was my attempt at someone using the Bullet Editor. I never bothered with the thing, except for one time I wanted to use a bullet called something cool.**

**Third, hey look, this chapter's a nice length.**

**Thank you to Sushant Minj and teroboal for favouriting or following, and thank you to 98kazer again, jairoesme again, and Guts and Toes for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	10. Not UBW, and A Little Sister Appears!

_Opening his eyes, Shirou saw a clear blue sky, with giant steel grey gears flying well within the clouds._

_Moving to get himself off his back, Shirou felt something fine underneath his hands. Grabbing a handful, and moving it towards his face, Shirou saw that it was sand, at least in appearance. But it felt too fine. Almost as if it were..._

_Ashes._

_Shaking his head, Shirou finally pulled himself up, before taking a look at his surroundings._

_It was a plain, a plain of sand. But peppering the plain, as far as his eyes could see, were blades, every one clean, as if they were just serviced. Some, normal swords used back before the Aragami appeared, but some as the Blade parts of God Arcs, attached to handles without Aragami. The odd thing was that every blade felt familiar, as if he had seen them before._

_Although he was certain he may have only seen shattered remnants in the ruins of museums and images from books on legends._

_However, what truly caught his attention was the hill in his line of sight. The hill was unique, as it was both the only change in the monotonous wasteland, and because it was untouched by blades, aside from the ones on top. That, and a man, standing atop the hill. However, he was too far away for Shirou to make out any features._

_Taking a step forward, Shirou began to make his way forward. Reaching the foot of the hill, he was interrupted by,_

_"You are in danger. Danger of being consumed by your own potential."_

_Stopping, Shirou looked to the man, which he could tell was looking at him too._

_"You are unique. If not because of your broken mentality, then at least because of the gift you were given the day you were saved."_

_"What do you mean? What was I given on the day I was saved?"_

_Chuckling, the man continued,_

_"You are a sword. As such, you can sympathise with other blades. That's what this world is, what it represents. This world is you, and you are this world."_

_Blinking in confusion, Shirou asked,_

_"I don't really know what you mean but, if this is my world, then who are you?"_

_Chuckling again, the man replied,__"_

_You don't know? I've been with you for a long time. I'm--"_

***Page Break***

Opening his eyes, Shirou looked to his surroundings to know where he was. Realizing he was in the Infirmary, Shirou calmed down, before thinking on his dream.

However, the harder he thought about it, the harder it was to remember. All that he could grasp was...

"An endless plain of blades... And a man?"

"Onii-chan?"

Jumping slightly from the sudden intrusion, Shirou looked to where the sound came from, to see the girl he and Kota saved from the Sariel.

Instead of the white hospital gown she was wearing earlier, she was now wearing a purple sweatshirt and a white skirt.

With a worried look, the girl asked,

"Are you okay Onii-chan? You were bleeding a lot from your wounds before. And you seemed to be in pain after you fell unconscious."

Ignoring the bizarre juxtaposition between this girl's appearance and what she was saying, Shirou responded with a question.

"I'm fine, but are you okay? You seemed pretty scared before the Sariel attacked."

Looking shocked by his concern, the girl had to look away to formulate a response, before asking, in a skittish tone of voice,

"W-Why are you so concerned for me? Why did you try to save me? Why did you fight so hard, for me?"

Looking genuinely confused at the girl's questions, Shirou closed his eyes, before responding,

"Well, because you were in trouble. Why else do I need to help someone?"

Looking shocked again, the girl began to shake before diving into Shirou and crying. With muffled thank you's coming from her, and a wetness beginning to spread on his bare chest, Shirou just rubbed her head, looking at her with a determined look in his eyes.

A look that showed his willingness to protect this girl from any danger.

Meanwhile, at the door to the Infirmary, unknown to either of them, was Sakaki, looking at them with a sad expression on his face, before looking at the clipboard in his hands and sighing.

"Oh, Kiritsugu, what did you do to this boy? And this poor girl?"

Shaking his head, he walked away, intending to come back when they were done. While he waited, he would think on how to address the two of them about their conditions, and their abilities.

***Page Break***

With the girl done crying, now sleeping, Shirou tried to ease her off of his arm, only for her to cling to him.

Sighing, Shirou shook his head and tried to make her at least comfortable. However, he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Hey Shiro--"

"Shh."

It was Kota, coming again to see Shirou. He was, however, being too loud, so Shirou hushed him.

Whispering, Kota continued,

"Ah, sorry. Anyway, how are you Shirou? You took some pretty heavy hits back there."

"Ah, I'm fine. How are you? I don't think the Sariel hit you, but I'm not sure."

Blinking from slight shock, Kota then shook his head in resignation, saying,

"That's so like you Shirou, ya know that?"

Looking at Kota confused, Shirou shook his head and asked Kota,

"So what happened after I fell unconscious?"

Looking Shirou in the eye, Kota began to relay what happened.

"After you fell unconscious, the girl here moved over to you, and then something weird happened. She began to glow, and then the glow spread to you. When it did, your wounds started to stop bleeding.

While she was doing that, I tried calling Hibari, only to hear static. After trying to leave the building, I was able to get a connection, and it turns out, Hibari had detected the Sariel and tried to call us.

When we didn't respond, she called our driver, who was wondering where we were. After I connected, I told her all about what happened. She then told me to carry you to the transport, and we took you here to the Den. The girl was by your side the entire time, and refused to leave.

Doctor Sakaki took some tests on you and your wrist, and here we are."

"My wrist?"

Looking to his wrist, Shirou is surprised at what he sees. His left arm, an inch above and below his wrist from his armlet, had turned a tan.

"Speaking of, you sure heal fast, huh? After that wall breach, when you got impaled by the Vajra, you healed without a scratch, and woke up only a few hours later too. And now, even though you got impaled through some really important places, you already seem ready to walk, and it's only been a day."

Blinking, Shirou thinks on it before agreeing.

"I mean, I've always been a fast healer but..."

Shaking his head, Shirou looked back to the girl, before asking,

"So what's her story? And her name? Who is she?"

Before Kota could respond, the girl stirred before looking at Shirou and saying,

"My name is Illyasviel von Einsbern. But you can call me Illya, Onii-chan."

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and no, it's not a Reality Marble. If anything, it's like the mentalscapes from Bleach. It's still symbolic, it just doesn't let Shirou pull swords into the real world, or yank people into his world.**

**Second, I wanted to continue from last time, and I feel pretty good about this.**

**Third, UBW, not to be confused with the God Arc called Unlimited Blade Works, has an appearance more like UBW Shirou's back in the Shirou/Archer fight in the anime, when Shirou was reaffirming that his dream wasn't a mistake. This is because, this Shirou still fully believes in his dream, as it hasn't truly been challenged yet.**

**Fourth, I kinda accidentally characterized Shirou similar to Touma from A Certain Magical Index, and while they are both similar, I feel saying 'I helped you because you were in trouble' is just basically owned by Touma, and no one else can say it without sounding wrong.**

**Fifth****, I'm sorry if this story is too short, but I just write until I feel I'm at either a satisfying conclusion (that's a lie), or a cliff-hanger that feels right.**

**Thank you to Tama001, ptl, Linkskingsolomon, and emmanuelq199 for following or favouriting, and thank you to sawtooth44 again, ptl, and Guts and Toes again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	11. Real Little Sister Hours

"Hey, Mister Shirou. Hello~?"

Shirou was brought back from his reminiscing, damn he was doing a lot of that today, by the sound of clicking fingers and the pilot's voice.

"Huh? What?"

"Hey, Mister Shirou, we landed a while ago. You kinda just stared into space. Are you alright?"

Remembering that, yes, he was on a helicopter after beating a Vajra and a Kongou, and not in the hospital after beating a Sariel two years ago, Shirou stood up, and began to apologize.

"Oh! Sorry to bother you, I was just remembering some stuff."

"Hey, hey, it's alright. But you might wanna go soon, Miss Hibari said that some people you know were waiting for you and seemed rather mad."

Shivering, Shirou muttered a thank you and one last apology, before standing from his seat, stretching his legs, and entering the elevator on the roof.

Standing in the elevator, and pressing the button corresponding to the God Arc Vault, Shirou leaned against the wall as Wolf's Howl played in the background.

He worried over what the girls would do to him, before deciding to cross that bridge when he gets to it.

With the elevator arriving, he entered the God Arc Vault.

With sweet silence greeting him, as the God Arc Vault was the only place in the Den that didn't have music playing, he moved to put his God Arcs away, before deciding to do some maintenance.

Entering the adjacent Engineering room, Shirou grabbed a whet-stone, took a seat, and began to sharpen his God Arcs.

"Lower, is that it? Alright, lower it is."

Bringing his whet-stone to the bottom of Kanshou, he began to rub hard, before stopping, saying,

"Softer? If that's what you want."

Easing up on the pressure, Shirou began to gently rub Kanshou.

Finishing up, he turned to Bakuya, before sighing,

"You're so dirty, you know that?"

Moving to grab, then grabbing, a wet rag, Shirou began to scrub Bakuya's petals. Pausing, he sighed again,

"Harder, really? I'm already going as hard as I can."

Finishing with Bakuya, Shirou then brought his God Arcs together, and changed them into Bow mode.

Leaning it against the wall, Shirou attempted a casual pull on the bowstring before grunting.

"Damn, you're so tight!"

Reaching for the parts of the bow that were still blades, Shirou attempted to loosen the Oracle string, before hearing a gasp and a crash behind him.

He turned quickly, cautious against whoever snuck up on him, but also worried, before seeing...

"Ah... ah... Shirou... was doing... with who...?"

A girl, looking around 15 in appearance, with blonde hair tied in a bun and emerald green eyes. Her face was red, and if one looked closely, it seemed as if her eyes had turned into spirals.

"Saber? What are you doing here? Were you going on a mission?"

Seeming to break out of her trance, Saber stood up, dusted off her blue combat outfit, and coughed into her fist, before, with a still red face, responded,

"O-Oh, nothing much... I was just... Looking for you as Sakura and Illya had requested for me to get you... Out of curiosity... What were you doing in here?"

Blinking, confused at the statement, Shirou responded, pointing at his God Arc, still in Bow form,

"I was just doing maintenance on Unlimited Blade Works."

What Shirou said seemed to just cause an atomic reaction in her mind, as she looked dumbfounded, then her entire face went red, and she started saying,

"Wait. That was... What you said... you were just... maintaining your God Arc?"

Nodding, with a persistently confused expression, Shirou watched as Saber seemed to have a mental breakdown, before she recomposed herself and, with a blank expression on her face, just told Shirou to follow her.

Shirou, scratching his head, grabbed his God Arc, turned it back into blades, then put them in their terminal.

Surely it won't be that bad right?

***Page Break - Right After***

It was bad. First, Sakura scolded him and gave him one of her scarier glares. Taiga, who was just there because she was following Sakura, mockingly laughed at Shirou's suffering. Hibari was shaking her head, having seen this scenario too many times before. Saber was just blankly staring into space, occasionally muttering something that sounded vaguely like maintenance.

Shirou was, meanwhile, just sitting in the seiza position, shame-faced. When Sakura, who was in her 'Absolute Ruler' mode, ordered Shirou to come have breakfast, he told her he would eat after seeing Illya (and Sakaki, though he didn't say that).

This also did not go well, but after plenty of begging (read: looking her in the eyes and asking softly), Sakura let Shirou go.

Smiling, Shirou left, heading for the elevator.

Once in, yet again listening to Wolf's Howl, Shirou pressed on the Laboratory floor button, and waited, thinking on what he would talk to Illya about.

Arriving, Shirou entered Sakaki's laboratory, and greeted him.

"Hello, Doctor Sakaki. I'm back."

Sakaki, on his terminal, looked up to Shirou, then stood smiling.

"Ah, Shirou! Welcome back! How was the mission?"

"It was good. A nice workout. Did you get any good data?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Sakaki moved back to his terminal, before replying,

"Yes, yes! Quite good indeed! But I noticed that you didn't use any of your abilities. Any reason?"

Putting his hands on his waist, Shirou responded,

"Well, it was just a warm up. Did you need me to use my abilities?"

Holding his chin, Sakaki thought on it, before responding,

"Not necessarily, but it would've helped. Maybe I should send you and Saber on a mission together. I know you seem to resonate stronger with her than the others."

Interrupting Sakaki before he could go on a mumbling rant, Shirou cleared his throat and said,

"Sorry Doctor, but I'm here to see Illya. Do you mind?"

Stopping, Sakaki looked at Shirou before looking back to his terminal and saying,

"Ah, of course. She's in the back, as she usually is."

Thanking him, Shirou moved to the door in the back right of the room. Saying a silent apology for intruding, Shirou pushed the door open.

Of the various objects within, Shirou's attention was drawn to the bed in the corner. Or more specifically, the occupant within.

With her hair spread everywhere, the snow fairy, Illya, Shirou's pseudo-little sister, slept peacefully.

Taking a seat at the chair next to her bed, Shirou reached out to gently nudge her awake.

"Hey, Illya. Illya, come on. I know you were awake like 10 minutes ago."

Groaning, Illya rolled to-and-fro, before opening her eyes and looking at Shirou.

"Onii-chan. It's nice to see you."

She said this pleasantly, with a smile on her face, before she began to pout, and asked, with an annoyed tone of voice,

"Why didn't you visit me earlier? Sakura came and told me you passed by Sakaki's office. Not just that, what did I hear about you skipping breakfast to go on a mission?"

Looking away from Illya's heated look, Shirou tried to come up with an excuse.

But, before he could begin to make an excuse...

"Fuhuhu..."

He was interrupted by the sound of laughter.

"Fuhahahahahaha! Oh, Onii-chan, you should see the look on your face!"

Illya was laughing so hard that she felt she was on the cusp of death.

Shirou, meanwhile, was looking away, embarrassed.

After Illya calmed down, the two began to talk. Mostly about what Shirou did today. It was a familiar scenario, one they repeated several times a day, but not one they got bored of.

As their conversation tapers off into comfortable silence, Shirou thought more on what Illya was.

She may have been his pseudo-little sister, but she was also...

"Hey, Onii-chan... Can you tell me about Daddy?"

Shocked, Shirou looked to Illya. Her expression was serious, if a little melancholy. Shirou wondered, why now? They had been together for two years, but why was she only asking about Kiritsugu now?

For in reality, Illya was the biological daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya, born before Shirou, making her Shirou's adoptive-big sister.

Shaking the thoughts away, Shirou decided to just tell her. He should be happy that she was curious.

"Okay Illya. Okay. But where to begin?"

And so, as Shirou described Kiritsugu, as his saviour, and as his father that was awful at cooking, Illya and Shirou were both slightly smiling, from the good emotions of the memories.

Maybe everything would be alright.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, yes, I did just make one big phrasing joke. Have y'all ever watched a bad ecchi anime, and there was that one scene where the girls are listening to the protag and someone else make noises out of context and they think they're having sex? Yeah, this was that, but from the protag's perspective.**

**Second, one of my reviewers, not gonna say who, has been saying that they're confused whether a chapter is in the past or present, until they read the AN. So, if you haven't noticed from the one page break this chapter, I've decided to add how long from the previous moment we've gone. But I just wanna know, is anyone else confused by the timeline?**

**Third, Absolute Ruler is just what I call Sakura's "Ohoho" mode. I think she has one. It was somewhere.**

**Fourth, alright, so Illya's room is where Shio used to stay. But I couldn't remember what it really looked like, so I stayed vague.**

**Thank you to amegaalfa, and WooHyeon for following or favouriting, and thank you to 98kazer again, and Kayen1024 again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	12. An Introduction As Old As 2004 (Sorta)

It had been two days since Shirou had gone on that mission against the Vajra and the Kongou.

In those two days, Sakura had been keeping a close eye on him, and he and Illya would talk about Kiritsugu, and Illya's mother, Irisviel.

It was on the second day, when Shirou had finished making breakfast, and everyone had been plated, that he noticed Saber was missing.

Now, this might not seem odd, if it were anyone else. But to Saber, the two most important things were her honor, and food.

Worrying over Saber's absence, Shirou stood to go find her, only to be interrupted by Saber opening the door and taking the seat adjacent Shirou.

Seeing Saber give him a look that told him they would talk later, Shirou sat back down and ate his food.

It's not too bad, he thought to himself. But he should've gone a little lighter on the seasoning for the Hamburg Steaks. Looking around he thought, at least everyone else is enjoying it. At least, if the rapturous looks on their faces was anything to go by.

With everyone finishing, and placing their dishes in the kitchen, Shirou began to wash the dishes. Helping him were Sakura, who he had been training in the culinary arts for years, and Saber, who just wanted to help.

As they finished up and began to leave, Saber stopped Shirou, telling him,

"Professor Sakaki has requested our presence."

Nodding, Shirou said his goodbyes to Sakura, before leaving for a different elevator.

Entering and pressing the Laboratory button, Shirou and Saber stood in the elevator, in Shirou's case, he leant against the back wall of the elevator, accompanied by Wolf's Howl.

As they were waiting, Shirou took another look at Saber. Looking 15, but really being in her late 30's, Saber was wearing an outfit similar yet different to her combat outfit.

Wearing a white blouse and a shin-length blue skirt, with black shoes and socks, she fully looked young. Her difference between her age and her appearance has something to do with her unique Bias Factor.

Because, on her wrist--

"Come on Shirou. We're at our stop."

Blinking out of his thoughts, Shirou nodded and got off the wall.

Entering the hallway, and reaching Sakaki's lab, the two opened the door.

As is usual, Sakaki was looking at his terminal, although, he looked slightly... sad about something.

"Hello, Doctor Sakaki. Saber told me you wanted to see us. But... are you okay?"

Snapping away from the monitor, Sakaki looked briefly surprised, before assuming a more normal expression, and responded,

"No, no. I'm fine. Thank you for coming. Do you remember the mission I sent you on two days ago? And the conversation afterward? This is a followup to that. Any questions?"

Nodding, Shirou responded,

"Yes. What are we hunting? And do you want me to use my abilities? Or both of us?"

Smiling slightly, Sakaki answered,

"Just a Hannibal today. Although, there are sightings of another Hannibal, so be careful. I would like it if I could record your abilities, but Miss Saber doesn't have to use her's specifically."

Nodding, Shirou asked one more question.

"Is it already registered with Hibari?"

"Mhm."

"Alright then. See you."

Turning, Shirou began to leave Sakaki's lab. Saber, meanwhile, stayed with Sakaki and, with a concerned tone of voice, asked,

"How is Illya? And Shirou?"

Sighing, and rubbing his eyes, Sakaki answered,

"Not well. Illya's getting worse by the day, but Shirou... I just don't know. I'm hoping this mission will provide some idea."

Before Saber could continue asking, Shirou called out,

"Hey, Saber! You okay!?"

Saber looked in Shirou's direction, before looking back to Sakaki and saying,

"Please keep us posted," before leaving.

Sighing again, Sakaki looked upward, before asking,

"Is this what you envisioned from your dreams? Johanne? Kiritsugu? Making these children paying for your mistakes?"

***Page Break - Maybe 5 Minutes Later***

Standing on the roof of the Den, both outfitted in their combat outfits, Shirou and Saber were entering the helicopter that would take them out to the Sunken Grid.

Sitting next to each other, the helicopter began to take off. Shirou noticed that the pilot was the same as the one from two days ago.

As the helicopter was flying, Shirou decided to close his eyes and take a quick nap.

Of course, he was just pulled back into the past.

***Page Break - ****2 Years Ago, After Saving Illya***

After meeting Illya, and deciding to protect her, Shirou's daily life had changed somewhat.

Instead of going straight home after school, or even helping others, he would, every few days or so, head to the Den, to go on practice missions and talk with Illya.

Speaking of, she had become a regular face in the Den. Acting like a needy little sister sometimes, then like a teasing older sister at others, she had charmed most members of the branch with her personality.

As Shirou went on more and more missions, he had gotten to the point where he was allowed to go on actual missions, against more mobile and larger Aragami. So far it was just Kongous, Gboro-Gboros, and Ukonvasara's. Rarely, they would actually let him go on a mission by himself.

Today was another rare time. He would be going on his own to fight a Kongou. While it wouldn't be his first time, he still had a little difficulty, as Kongous were resistant to Slash and Stab attacks.

While his Bow could, in theory, do major damage due to it's slight explosions after impact, Shirou didn't know how to release enough at any one time to do major damage. After he shoots one, and strings the next, the Kongou's already noticed him.

Shaking off the negativity, Shirou entered the jeep and waited as the journey to the City of Mercy went underway.

As he waited, he looked to his left wrist, still hidden underneath his casual white shirt with long blue sleeves. The skin had stayed a tan, as opposed to going back to its usual pale. This was different to the first time against the Ogretails, where he thought his wrist had changed to tan, but turned out it hadn't.

Before he could sink too deep into his wondering, Shirou was interrupted by the driver coughing, telling him they had arrived.

Standing, apologizing to, and thanking the driver, Shirou grabbed his God Arcs and entered the City of Mercy.

Going back to the place he and Kota had originally waited out at, as he had been for the last few missions, Shirou took a seat and called Hibari.

"Hey, Miss Hibari? How long until the Kongou shows up?"

"Not long Shirou. Just five minutes. And I've told you already, don't call me Miss. It makes me feel old."

"Ah, sorry."

Deciding to wait silently, Shirou closed his eyes, before opening them and looking to his God Arcs.

"Huh? I could've sworn..."

Shaking his head, Shirou closed his eyes, only to open them again. Staring at his God Arcs, he reached out to them.

"Wha-!?"

It was as if his ears had been blocked, but suddenly could hear properly again.

From his God Arcs, he could sense a desire. They wanted him to feed them, as his various partners had been doing most of the Devouring in the past few missions.

"But why am I hearing them now?" He wondered, not thinking the God Arcs would answer.

_Because their bond had become stronger. Because they were resonating._ Shirou was shocked. They actually responded.

Before Shirou could ask more, he was interrupted by the crackle of his ear-piece.

"Okay Shirou. The Kongou should appear around now. Please move to engage."

"A-Alright."

Shaking off the bizarre circumstance, Shirou jumped off the cliff, yelling his battle-cry.

"Let's go! Trace On!"

***Page Break - Five Minutes Later***

Panting from the slightly intense battle, Shirou reviewed what went wrong.

Shirou was able to string and shoot two arrows this time, but his first arrow, which hit, caused the Kongou to flinch out of the way of the second.

Now losing the advantage of range, Shirou had to engage in melee combat. While it wasn't the greatest, he could tell he was improving, especially in his draw speed.

Done resting, Shirou moved to devour the Kongou, before...

**Cra**-Crackle.

"Shirou, get out of there! Two Vajras have appeared unexpectedly! We'll call for back up, so just go!"

Shirou would've followed Hibari's instructions. However...

**Crackle**.

He was already surrounded by the two of them. And they were both charging their Oracle attacks.

**Crackle-Boom**!

One Vajra had decided to attack first. Jumping from behind him, and leaping at him as it surged with electricity, it landed where Shirou was, releasing an electrical explosion.

Shirou had, however, dodged. But, he was now closer to the other Vajra.

**Crackle**!

With a roar, the Vajra released it's energy in a two-meter wide radius around it, trying to net Shirou.

Shirou had again dodged, but with less grace than the last one.

Moving so he could keep the both of them in his line of sight, Shirou began to look around to see if there were any way for him to get some distance.

Being in the clearing between Points C and D did not provide many options. The best he had was to rush into the church and try to bottleneck them.

Before he could think on it, the original Vajra had decided to just rush at him.

Taking a defensive stance, Shirou prepared to try and parry the Vajra's attacks.

Taking a jump just before the Vajra rammed into him, and landing on top of the Vajra, Shirou decided to use the chance provided, and began to wail on the Vajra's tail. While it was moving around everywhere, Shirou was an expert in dealing precise, damaging blows.

Before the Vajra could buck him off, he had broken the bonds in it's tail, causing it to topple.

Jumping off the Vajra, Shirou moved to continue the assault, only to get struck in the side by a ball of electricity from the Vajra Shirou had forgotten about.

Hitting the floor, Shirou quickly tried to get up, only to notice that his muscles had tensed up. He was paralyzed.

As he tried to move his arms, tried to fight back, as the Vajra moved closer, opened it's jaws to rip him to shreds, Shirou began to think, before outright yelling,

"Damnit! I can't die yet! Not like this! And not to a bastard like you! There are still debts I have to pay! And I still need to become a Hero of Justice! So I can't die here! I won't!"

Then, as if like magic, a blue blur appeared before his eyes. The Vajra that had just been about to kill him had been blasted back. As the person that saved him turned to him, he saw...

The most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Dressed in a blue dress, with armour over it, and blonde hair in a bun, with emerald green eyes.

In her hands was a large sword, a Long Blade Type God Arc. It had a royal blue handle, and a golden blade. Without knowing, Shirou had memorized the sword, down to it's base components. It was called Excalibur, based on the sword of legend, but different to the normal Excalibur God Arc in both colour scheme and ability. This one was much greater.

But beyond her appearance, beyond the blade in her hand, Shirou felt a connection to this girl. Without realizing, his Armlet and wrist had begun to glow a neon-green.

As she looked at him, she reached out a hand, and asked,

"I ask of you, are you my Partner?"

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, that was nice. Added plot points that I'll have to look back on later, but you know.**

**Second, Saber called Shirou Partner, as opposed to Master, and that's because I couldn't come up with an acronym for Master and Servant that related to each other.**

**Third, I only now realize that most of this story will take place over flashbacks, but there will be important stuff that happens in the future.**

**Fourth, the Cra-Crackle is supposed to be the Vajra (the bold part) and the earpiece crackling at almost the same time. In case you didn't get it.**

**Fifth, yes that end scene does mirror Shirou and Saber first meeting in Stay Night. Yes, I felt it was necessary to include that. No Lancer, but I'll try and get him here later.**

**Sixth, I wanted to say last chapter, if I ever finish this story, and buy and finish Code Vein, how would y'all feel about a Fate and Code Vein crossover? I've already made a Shirou avatar in the game, so I'm halfway there.**

**Seventh, I mentioned in a previous chapter I would find somewhere to put my pictures. I now got a place. Just copy and paste the link, and remember to delete the spaces. It's**

**https : / www . deviantart . com / cjks1000**

**Thank you to XenoVise, and silverkiller100 for favouriting or following, and thank you to Kayen1024 again, SoftItalics, and sawtooth44 again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	13. Baber Getting Some Hits In

Shirou was there, paralyzed on the floor, and the girl was there, staring down upon him with a slightly concerned gaze.

Then there were the two Vajras, one far behind her and one to the left of them. The Vajra behind her was still stunned from whatever she did, but the Vajra Shirou had stunned by breaking their tail bond had stood up and began to lumber forward, confidant of it's chances.

With a loud cracking of the floor, the Vajra leapt, aiming for Shirou and the girl.

They both turned, Shirou wanting to tell her to run, but before he could...

**Clang**!

The girl had instantly raised her sword, catching the Vajra on the claws.

Briefly, a contest of strength seemed to occur, before the girl grunted, and forced the Vajra away.

Making chase, the girl quickly followed the Vajra then, being underneath, jumped upward and made for a horizontal strike.

It connected, parting the Vajra's midsection with ease, and forcing it to it's back on the ground. But it wasn't dead yet.

With the last of it's strength, it tried to attack the girl. Pulling together a single orb of electricity, and consuming it, it then released a small beam of concentrated electricity and Oracle.

But it was no use. The girl merely raised her sword and, angling it, flew down the beam, parrying all the while, before reaching the Vajra and impaling it through the core.

Finally dead, the Vajra began to fade.

"Look out!"

The girl then snapped her head to the direction of the voice, only to see...

***Page Break - The Fight From Shirou's PoV***

Shirou was amazed. This petite looking girl was easily able to beat a Vajra in a contest of strength, and dispatched it in one blow.

Although, he had never heard of a Vajra shooting a beam before...

But his attention was caught by the sound of the Vajra she had initially blown away beginning to stand.

It didn't notice him, it's attention completely focused on the girl. Trying to move, to stand up, only to find his legs still wouldn't move, he felt desperation begin to well up, he cried out,

"Look out!"

The girl turned to see the Vajra leaping at her. Caught mostly off guard, the girl could only raise her sword to block, but...

Shirou saw. She had grimaced, as if in pain. The girl was in pain, the girl that saved him was in pain, the girl that dispatched a Vajra in two hits was in pain.

As the Vajra approached the girl, Shirou pulled himself along the ground. His legs couldn't move, but his arms could. So he dragged himself to his God Arcs.

As he did, there was a voice speaking in his head.

_Throw them. The blades are Kanshou and Bakuya. The two blades that will always come back to each other. And you are as much them as they are you._

Grabbing Bakuya, he turned to see the Vajra about to strike the girl. Before it could, Shirou reeled his arm back and threw Bakuya at the Vajra.

To anyone else, it appeared as if Shirou's arm had blurred, and with it, a white blur flying towards the Vajra, striking it across the face before it could attack the girl and flying past.

Finally feeling movement in his legs, Shirou pulled himself up and began to run for the Vajra. Reaching his right hand out, as it began to glow in neon-green veins, and a similar pattern appearing on his God Arcs, Bakuya seemed to reverse it's direction, coming straight for Shirou, but as it reached the Vajra's face again, he threw Kanshou.

Kanshou, flying far faster than Bakuya, reached the Vajra's face at the same time, digging into it's eyes.

As this happened, the girl shook out of her shock and, raising her sword, let a golden aura begin to spread from her right wrist to her Excalibur.

Swinging the sword down, she called out,

"Excalibuuuur!"

The next moment, Shirou was blinded by the light, but he was able to briefly see a giant golden strike slicing right through the Vajra.

As the light faded, Shirou opened his eyes to see the Vajra completely gone, and the girl panting. Moving over to her, Shirou asks,

"Are you okay?"

The girl, still panting, turned to see Shirou and looked surprised at his concern, before schooling her expression, answering,

"I am fine. But how are you? Can you move alright?"

Nodding, Shirou told her that he was fine.

Being silent, he looked at her, before gasping and, with a blush, asking,

"I-I didn't ask. What's your name?"

Looking surprised, and slightly confused, the girl thought on it before answering,

"You may call me Saber. What is your name?"

With a thoughtful expression, Shirou said,

"Saber? Ah, my name is Shirou. Shirou Emiya."

The girl paused momentarily, stiffening at Shirou's last name.

"Emiya?"

"Yeah, it was my adoptive dad's last name."

Unstiffening, Saber said,

"Adopted, huh? Then I will call you Shirou. Yes, that suits you very well."

Smiling, Shirou and Saber once more went silent, before Shirou moved to pick up his God Arcs. After grabbing them, he then moved to the first Vajra's corpse, which was barely still there, and devoured it.

Smiling to his God Arc, he said,

"Sorry I couldn't feed you till now. You still hungry?"

Getting a negative, he turned back to see Saber looking at him oddly.

Walking to her, he asked,

"So Saber, did you get called by Miss Hibari?"

"Yes. I had recently arrived at the Far East Branch from the England Branch. Hibari is the woman with red hair, correct? As the only person combat-ready, she sent me here."

Nodding, Shirou asked something that had been bothering him since he saw her.

"Hey, Saber. What's up with your Armlet?"

For on her wrist was an Armlet dissimilar to his own, or anyone else's.

It was silver, looking as if three bangles of steel had been stacked on top of each other, and bolted together by two pieces of cylindrical metal. It was from there that the golden aura emerged.

She looked away, before looking back to Shirou and roughly saying,

"Let's move. Transport is waiting for us."

She then walked off, briskly.

Looking after her, Shirou cursed himself, before chasing after her.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and,** **sorry for this chapter being shorter than usual. Ya know, sometimes it just feels right to finish somewhere.**

**Second, that laser beam. I kinda came up with it, but if anyone says anything, just say it's Aragami evolving. And ignore that no Vajra dies this in God Eater 3.**

**Third, some of this was me trying to do what the Heaven's Feel movie did with seeing Saber injured and Shirou moving his ass. Turned out different cause Shirou can do shit.**

**Fourth, England Branch. Dunno if it exists, or if it has another name but better than saying Europe Branch, right?**

**Fifth, if you don't know how to think of Saber's Armlet, look at the things Emiya Alter wears on his wrists.**

**Thank you to ulttoanova, Bag of Holding, Krowlein, and Dark Vulpine for favouriting or following, and thank you to Guts and Toes again, and SoftItalics again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**


	14. Short But Sweet Hannibal Crushing

With a soft nudge, Shirou awoke from his dream.

Opening his eyes, he saw a slightly concerned Saber looking at him, and a view of the Sunken Grid behind her.

"You awake, Mister Shirou? We've arrived."

Looking to the pilot, Shirou nodded, before standing, yawning, and cracking his joints.

Looking to Saber, he thanked her, before grabbing his God Arcs and hopping out of the helicopter.

Not far behind him, Saber also hopped out, Excalibur in hand.

As the two situated themselves, and began to make their way toward the usual survey point, Saber kept shooting barely hidden glances of concern to Shirou, while Shirou just continued on, oblivious of his Partner's concern.

"So, Saber... How do you wanna handle this Hannibal?"

"Huh?"

So focused on her concern, Saber was blindsided by Shirou's question.

"I mean, Doctor Sakaki wants me to use my abilities, but you're here because my resonance rates increase... So, do you want to parry it while I attack? Or do you want to distract it while I attack it from range?"

No longer caught unawares, Saber thought on it, before responding,

"It would be wise to attack him from a distance while I distract it. Besides that, you can provide a wider range of data using your ranged abilities, correct?"

Hearing an affirmative noise from Shirou, she then concluded that that would be their course of action.

Now they just had to wait.

***Page Break - 5 Minutes Later***

The Hannibal was stalking around the Sunken Grid, searching for any kind of meal. As it walked on all fours, tail swishing about, its head suddenly turned, reacting to a noise.

Beginning to move faster, toward the sound, across a path into the center of the field of water.

And in its sight was a blonde girl in blue, with a giant golden blade in her hand.

Saber looked up to the beast, before assuming a combat stance. Facing forward, with waist turned and arms holding her sword in a two-handed grip, she prepared to defeat her foe.

On an unknown signal, the two leapt for each other. The Hannibal running on its hind-legs, reaching for Saber, and Saber leaping over its grasping arms, aiming a kick at its face.

Landing it, Saber leapt off the Hannibal's face and sent a brief slash-shaped burst of golden Oracle energy towards it, as the Hannibal immediately went to lash out. It instead brought its left armoured arm upward to block, and was pushed back with a deep cut in its armour.

Before it could recover however...

"Caladbolg!"

It was struck in the side by a flash of crimson red, before being consumed by a crimson red explosion.

As the explosion faded, and the Hannibal collapsed to the ground, heavily burnt and with a gaping hole in its side, Saber turned her head to where the red blur came from.

On top of the stacks of shipping containers to her left, Shirou was crouched, his God Arc in hand. Sending her a small smile, he then gestured to the Hannibal.

Turning, Saber saw that the Hannibal was still alive, if barely, and was trying to push itself back up. Stepping over, Saber quickly and efficiently decapitated the Hannibal.

As the Hannibal began to fade, she gripped her God Arc with both hands, keeping it parralel to the ground, before squeezing, causing it to enter Devour mode.

A black beast overtook the blade, with golden veins running up and down its length, and with golden eyes.

As Saber devoured the Hannibal, Shirou made his way over. Walking along the containers before hopping off them, returning his God Arc to Blade form, and strolling down the path towards Saber, who had just finished devouring.

"Do you think that was enough data for Doctor Sakaki?"

Cocking her head to the side, Saber thought on it, before responding,

"It will likely be able to satisfy him. But I wouldn't be surprised if he sent you on another mission."

Before Shirou could respond, they got a slightly startled call from Hibari.

"The Hannibal that's been lurking around has just entered the mission area, and is coming right for you!"

Blinking, Shirou and Saber quickly took combat stances, before Shirou smirked slightly, saying,

"Well, I guess that answer's our problem, huh?"

Blinking at Shirou's slightly cocky attitude, Saber shook her head and waited for the beast.

It suddenly jumped over the shipping containers before them. Just as suddenly, Shirou flung Kanshou at the Hannibal's head, and began running.

As it sliced past the Hannibal's head and flew onward toward the containers the Hannibal just leapt over, it suddenly turned around, flying back towards the Hannibal. At the same moment, Shirou flung Bakuya.

The two blades then impaled themselves deep into both sides of the Hannibal's neck, before Shirou leapt up to the Hannibal, now falling backwards from the blades.

Nearing the Hannibal, the two blades then started to yank themselves out of its neck, then moved to Shirou's hands.

Gripping them tightly, Shirou then brought his blades together and pushed forward in a cross-slash, severing the Hannibal's head.

The only issue was that the two of them were close to falling in the water. Before Shirou could, Saber had leapt over as well, grabbing Shirou by the scruff of his shirt and then, using the Mid-Air Jump skill she has installed in her God Arc, leapt again, being able to reach the top of the shipping container.

Letting go of Shirou, she sighed and said,

"Honestly Shirou. You need to be more careful. What if you fell in the water? That would've been difficult for you to escape."

Scratching the back of his head, he answered with a chuckle,

"Sorry Saber. But do you think we have enough data for Doctor Sakaki?"

"I do believe so."

Smiling at each other, they then made their way to leave.

And as they walked, Saber looked to Shirou, thinking on the strange attitude he observed, before shaking her head, believing that everything would be fine.

Wouldn't it?

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee, and the lack of reviews slightly scares me. Did I do something wrong? Another thing, the last chapter's title was a reference to UBW Abridged, calling Saber Baber.**

**Second, ****alright, listen. Magic is a thing, but no one can use it or knows about it. The most it does is make characters act like their usual Fate selves. An example of this is Shirou getting constant flashes to a certain someone, deciding his name, fighting style, and God Arc name. Also, his inner world. His Caladbolg is another example of this, just him instinctually naming this attack with a name the same as the original attack.**

**Third, Mid-Air Jump. Yup, I'm gonna mention game mechanics. Shirou should have this too, and I realize that, but I'll say that Shirou does not because... he had tried out another loadout to experiment.**

**Fourth, I'll probably get Hrunting in here later.**

**Fifth****, sorry it's so short again.**

**Thank you all for reading.**

**Goodbye.**


	15. Swords, Tsunderes, and Some Good Set-Up

_"Can you feel it?"_

_Shirou was once again in that plain of swords. Leaning against the hill he was attempting to scale the last time he was there._

_Looking to the man, which he could now tell was wearing a long coat, he asked,_

_"Feel what?"_

_A disappointed sigh answered him._

_"You truly are a fool. Are you really unaware? Unaware of your predicament? Of your fate? Of your own self!?"_

_Shirou was shocked. He may have only met the man once, but he got the feeling this was an abnormal reaction._

_"Sorry... I didn't mean..."_

_Cutting Shirou off, the man responded,_

_"No, I'm sorry. It's just... focus. Focus on yourself. Feel how the life flows through you. And how it flows through this world."_

_Blinking, Shirou wondered on how he would achieve that, before huffing and closing his eyes._

_Breathing deeply in, he focused on the beating of his heart._

_Breathing out, he tried to trace the minute feelings of... something flowing through him. He could sense that from the heart, the something flowed to the rest of the body. But there was one collection of veins that were bringing the something in._

_Breathing in, he followed those veins, until he reached his left... wrist. As he reached it, realizing he was tracing his Bias Factor, the feeling of the Bias Factor seemed to suddenly spread out away from his body._

_With a hitched exhale, he hesitated._

_"You're already at the precipice. Just reach out, and feel the connection between you and this world. And find the end. The end of this endless plain._"

_With an odd boost of confidence, Shirou breathed in deeply and continued._

_Following the flow of the Bias Factor, outside of him, and into the world, he felt as it practically permeated everything._

_Every grain of sand, every blade in the ground, every gear in the sky, everywhere._

_Shaking his head, and breathing out, Shirou followed that flow to the edges of his perception, until..._

_"Ah!"_

_It was as if he had been attacked. In his own mind, the blades that made up his world suddenly turned on him, piercing him through._

_Looking to his left arm, where the pain was, he saw..._

_Blades._

_Blades ripping and tearing out of his skin._

_Before he could have any proper reaction,_

_"Now do you see? How your own power is turning on you? Trying to consume you? It'll start with your arm, but it'll consume the rest of you later."_

_Frustrated, from the pain and the lack of comprehensible answers, Shirou flipped on to his right arm and legs, scrambling up the hill to try and get a glimpse of the man._

_But all he saw, as the world faded, was the man's coat, a crimson red in the midday light._

***Page Break - After The Dream, A Week After Meeting Saber***

Sitting up in his futon, slight sweat on his brow, Shirou looked around his bare room, before looking to his left arm to see...

It was made of flesh and bone, and had a red Armlet. It was not made of swords.

Sighing in slight relief, Shirou then thought. What did the man mean when he said his power was trying to consume him? Was he going to turn into swords?

And what power? His connection with his God Arcs? Or just his very essence as aa God Eater?

Shaking his head free of the thoughts, Shirou began his day.

Putting on his usual clothes, doing some morning exercise, and cooking some breakfast for him and Taiga, the only thing missing from his day was his sweet kouhai.

Ever since Sakura had told him she needed to help Shinji and her grandfather with something over a month ago, she hadn't shown up at the Emiya residence once. Not only that, Shirou rarely saw her at school, and when he went to her, she seemed to pale and run away.

On top of that, Shinji was also missing...

He was worried. His closest friend and his kouhai had disappeared or were appearing distressed. But he couldn't help them if they didn't ask.

Burning his hand from the pan because he wasn't paying attention, Shirou shook his head from his thoughts.

He can't let it distract him on his team mission.

***Page Break - Around 6 Hours Later***

Arriving to the Den, Shirou took the steps down to Hibari. Looking up, Hibari spotted the red-haired boy and waved him over.

"Hey Shirou. Are you prepared for the mission today?"

"Uh huh. I'm curious to see how well I can work in a team with three other people. Even if I normally have them as partners."

"Yeah well, don't get overconfident. You'll be fighting more and stronger Aragami this time around, so be careful."

Nodding, and with a slight reassuring smile, Shirou walked over to the benches to wait for his teammates.

As he did, he thought on the incident after meeting Saber. He and Saber had taken the jeep to the Den, before he was quickly taken to the Infirmary, only for nothing to be wrong with him.

Afterwards, he talked to Illya, who was incredibly worried, and Taiga, who charged past the guards to make sure he was alright.

Taiga had been, unfortunately, sick that last month, unable to visit Shirou after the Illya incident.

Being able to leave, Shirou made his way to Sakaki's office, only to see Sakaki and Saber chatting. After asking about Saber, Sakaki gave him a quick rundown.

Saber had been operating in the England Branch for the past 10 years, used to be a Partner of Kiritsugu, and was transferred to the Far East per Sakaki's request.

Sakaki nor Saber would tell Shirou more, so he decided to let it drop.

"Hey, Shirou?"

Shirou was brought out of his remembering by his first teammate, and teacher, Kota.

"Hey Kota. How are you doing?"

Smiling, Kota answered in the affirmative, before they began small talk. Shirou and Kota had gone on a number of missions together after the Illya incident.

The next to arrive was Saber, who entered with a polite,

"Greetings, Shirou. Captain Kota."

Shirou responded with a similarly polite greeting, while Kota groaned about being addressed as Captain. Shirou and Saber had, in the past two weeks since they met, been put on a fair amount of missions together, because of some reason Sakaki hadn't told them.

Finally, the last person to join was...

"Hello there, Emiya, Saber, Captain Kota. How are you all today?"

Another young God Eater, of the same age as Shirou. With long black hair, contained in twin-tails, and sapphire blue eyes, she had an innocent smile on her face that hid her devious personality.

Shirou answered first,

"I'm fine. How are you, Tohsaka?"

***Page Break - During Shirou's First Few Missions***

When Shirou first met Rin Tohsaka, it was on his second mission after saving Illya. He was told by Hibari that he would be going on a mission with another new recruit, a prodigy like him.

As he was talking to Hibari about her, about how she did well on her training missions, has full-marks on shooting courses, and does perfectly well in her lessons, Rin walked up in a red sweater, black skirt, and black thigh-highs, and listened to them talk about her.

Before Hibari could divulge more, Rin cleared her throat, catching the two's attention.

"Hello there, Emiya. My name is Rin Tohsaka. Nice to meet you."

As she introduced herself, Shirou felt an odd sense of nostalgia. As if he knew her from somewhere.

Shaking it off, Shirou responded in kind.

"Nice to meet you, Tohsaka. You already know, but I'm Shirou Emiya. I hope we work well together on this mission."

With a light giggle, Tohsaka told him he'd be fine, before they finally went on their mission.

They were going to the City of Mercy, and fighting a Gboro-Gboro. The mission went simply, before Rin decided to make smalltalk.

As they did, they got to know each other a bit. As they talked, Rin started to let up a little and began to show some of her more teasing personality.

They complimented each other well, and knew they would likely make a good team. Him, the melee combatant, her, the ranged cover.

***Page Break - Back to the Team Mission***

As the four entered the jeep to take them to their mission, Shirou decided to take another look over everyone's God Arcs.

Kota's was an orange Assault Gun, with a circular segment on top, reminiscent of the 'tommy-guns' they had seen in Bugarally. It was covered in scratches, but also looked well-used.

Saber's was the same as previous, a golden Long Sword, with a blue handle and Buckler Shield.

Rin's was the most normal of everyone's. It was a blue Short Blade, with a jewel pattern, and a black Blaster Gun with red highlights. The Short Blade was called the 'Jewel Blade', and the Blaster Gun was called the 'Gandr Shot'. It shot a custom made bullet, and deals Divine damage.

Before Shirou could sink too deep into his fantasizing on their swords, he was snapped out of it by Kota pushing him lightly.

"Hey Shirou. Do you remember what we're fighting?"

Confused at the question, Shirou replied,

"Ummm... It was a Vajra, wasn't it? And a Chi-You too?"

Nodding, Kota sent Shirou a slightly worried look.

"Yeah. But don't get really caught up in your thoughts, okay? That's bad for you, and everyone."

Looking away ashamedly, Shirou apologized, before they finally arrived.

From there, it was business as usual. They all arrived at the place where they normally waited, and made small-talk.

The time arrived with a crackle of everyone's earpiece.

"Okay everyone. This'll be Shirou's first team mission. As such, Shirou will act as today's leader. The Vajra should be appearing any moment at Point K. Good luck."

Standing up, everyone looked to Shirou, who looked away before gaining his composure and telling them their roles.

"Kota, Tohsaka, can you two keep the Aragami from running away or making any manoeuvres? Saber, would you mind actively attacking the Aragami while I provide back-up?"

With three distinct agreements, Shirou turned to face the city, before stepping up to the edge of the cliff and jumping, calling his catch-phrase.

"Let's go! Trace-On!"

As he fell, he heard his teammates calling their own.

"Saber, entering combat!"

"I'll show you the might of the Tohsaka Clan!"

"I can't look lame in front of my kouhai's! I'll kick your butt extra-fast!"

***Page Break***

**Thanks for reading. I'll talk later.**


	16. Some Things Change, Some Things Don't

The battle had concluded with an overwhelming victory for Shirou's team. The only scratches gained were the ones Shirou's God Arc suffered when he threw them to deflect a Vajra's strike against Saber.

Having devoured the Aragami, Rin taking the Vajra and Shirou taking the Chi-You at the insistence of his God Arcs, the team began to leave the clearing.

As they did, Shirou began to feel a sense of deja-vu. Wasn't he leaving from a successful mission before being blindsided? Or has he just been surprised so many times he's creating memories that didn't happen?

Shaking his head, he focused on the strange feeling of dread in his stomach. As if something was going to happen. Looking to his team, he saw that only Saber seemed to feel that sense of dread, if her expression was anything to go by.

However, nothing happened. It was only when they were near the exit of the city...

"Stop."

Saber said. Everyone stopped to look at her, a question on Rin's and Kota's tongues, before Saber quickly silenced them.

"Shh. Listen."

So they did. It was hard, and they were barely able to hear it, but they did. The sound of heavy breathing, and heavy footsteps. But also the sound of something slithering. Like dozens of snakes.

At this point, everyone had gathered together, each holding their God Arc in an offensive stance.

The breathing and stepping just got louder and louder, until it suddenly stopped.

Everything was tense, before...

"**Graorrraaaaa!!!**"

A roar resounded through the street they were in, before a giant blur zoomed out of a building and right towards them.

"Split!"

Calling out the order, all four jumped in different directions. Rin and Kota had jumped to the sides of the street, through the windows on the buildings. Saber had backpedalled further down the street, in a ready stance. Shirou meanwhile...

Being at the front of the formation, he made what he thought was the best decision and jumped towards the beast -Aragami?-. Flipping over it, he tried to slash the beast, only for his blades to cut through something, but then lose traction.

Landing behind it, Shirou turned to look at it, only to see...

"**Graooooorrrrrr!!!**"

A giant, almost humanoid, figure, made of a bunch of writhing, tentacle-like things. The tentacles were mostly concentrated on it's hulking abdomen, with long arms made of the same substance ending at nubs bound by a black leather band, and one of its legs made of the tentacles too. The other leg however...

"A human? That's a... that used to be... a person?"

The horrified realization came to all, with Rin, who had recovered, vocalizing it. Shirou, however, was feeling rage. Rage at whatever did this to a human. Rage that he couldn't _save _this person.

Because he knew, he knew that this wasn't just an Aragami. And it wasn't a God Eater turned Aragami either.

With a cry, he ran at the beast, wanting to at least put the person out of his misery. As he ran forward, there was a general cry of his name from the team, before he began to hack at the beast's body. But the more he sliced, it felt as if it became harder to cut, before with one final tearing strike, Shirou parted the writhing tentacles, only to see...

"No... No, it can't be... No..."

"**Shiiiiirou... Saaaave... Sakuraaaa...**"

With that, the beast's nub-like arms became unbound, each writhing tentacle extending until there were over 20 tentacles on each arm with a knife-like protrusion.

"**Graaooraaar!!!**"

With another roar, the beast suddenly twirled quickly, raking its numerous protrusions around it, scoring against the stunned Shirou, and tearing apart the street, creating a thick layer of dust.

In the cover of the smoke, it jumped, easily clearing the buildings, and ran away.

As the dust cleared, Kota, Rin, and Saber all went into the streets, where the beast was.

"What do you think that was? Do you two have any ideas? Captain? Saber?"

"No. In all my years as a God Eater, I've never seen an Aragami like that. Nor an Aragami still so... human. Not in the Far East or Europe."

"Neither do I. Me and my team have seen some weird stuff, but nothing like this. Maybe the guys in Cradle have seen something like that, but..."

It was around that point that they finally heard Shirou's mumbling.

Looking over, he appeared more shaken than any of them had seen, and they had seen him bleeding to death and seconds from death. He was pale, with a slight shake in his hand.

But it was his face that scared them.

His face...

"What happened to you... Shinji?"

Was one of calm rage, his eyes having gone a cold, steel grey.

***Page Break - Back At The Den***

On their ride over, the team had remained silent, looking at Shirou, who still looked enraged.

They only briefly asked if he was okay, in reference to both his body and his mood, before he responded with a brisk affirmative.

When they finally reached the Den, Shirou rushed in, going straight for Sakaki's Office. His team was left behind, having to explain to Hibari what was wrong.

As Shirou barged his way into Sakaki's office, he saw Sakaki and Illya talking.

With a gasp, Illya turned to see Shirou, slightly bleeding, but wearing a fearsome expression.

"O-Onii-chan... Are you... okay? You look r-really scary."

Pausing, Shirou turned to Illya, and his expression seemed to soften for an instant, before hardening again.

Turning to Sakaki, he began.

"Doctor Sakaki. What can you tell me about the... monster we fought earlier?"

"Monster? What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. The thing we fought after completing the mission. It should have appeared on the radar."

Looking legitimately confused, Sakaki replied,

"Sorry Shirou. But nothing showed up on our radar. Otherwise, Hibari would've contacted you, correct?"

"..."

Looking away, Shirou grit his teeth and spat out a sorry, before leaving the lab. As he did, Illya tried to call out to him, only for the door to close.

"W-Wait! Onii-cha-"

**Clunk**

With a sigh, Illya turned back to Sakaki, before noticing the curious look in his eyes. With a breath filled with both caution and wonder, he asked,

"Did you see his eyes? They were different than usual. Not just in the feelings conveyed, but in their colour. With that, and the change in his skin... Could this be just like that one time? I hope not, but... I should inform Licca to make preparations, just in case."

"I-In case of what?"

Looking to Illya, he sadly smiled and answered,

"In case his God Arc breaks."

***Page Break - Leaving The Den***

Shirou had left the Den at a brisk pace, garnering attention due to him still holding his God Arcs. To avoid the attention, he began to jump from rooftop to rooftop, until he reached his destination.

The Matou residence was up the street from the Emiya residence, and further away from Kuromatsu High.

Landing beyond the front gate, he put his God Arcs beside the door frame, before pressing the doorbell. There was no response. Moving back, and looking at the windows, Shirou saw that none had their lights on.

Going to the door, he pressed the doorbell again. Still no response.

Losing what little patience he still had, he began to knock on the door hard, before it just flew open from his knock.

The entry hallway was empty, and the light's were turned off. There were also no shoes to indicate whether anyone was home.

Leaving his God Arcs, he entered the home. Deciding to investigate the bottom floor first, he followed the left path, which went straight forward, and led him to the sibling's bedrooms.

The first bedroom he crossed was Sakura's. Opening the door, he was greeted by a simple room, similar to his own in its sparsity, but different in that it had memorabilia of her own. Whether it was a picture her, Shirou, Shinji, and Taiga all celebrating Shirou and Shinji's middle-school graduation, or a trophy she won in an archery contest.

It showed that someone lived here, in this room. Someone that could possibly in danger.

Not seeing any obvious clues, Shirou left to enter Shinji's room. Opening the door, he saw how it was almost the polar opposite of his own.

It was full of all sorts of things, including trophies, books, photos, and the like. And it was messy. Likely more in-line with the average teenage boy's room.

Looking around, there was one thing Shirou found that stood out to him. On Shinji's bed, there was something hidden under the covers. Pulling it out, he saw it was a diary. Sakura's diary.

Apologizing for the invasion of privacy, Shirou began to skim the book. It talked a lot about Shinji in the early parts, before it began to mention him and Taiga too. But the important parts were the ones detailed from about a month ago.

_Dear Diary,_

_I was recently told by Shinji that Grandfather required our assistance with something. It's actually quite rare that our Grandfather asks us for something, but he's been taking care of us for so long, it would be wrong to decline._

_The only problem is that I won't be able to see Senpai and Miss Fujimura today. Well, it's not that bad. It's only one day._

_\--_

_Dear Diary,_

_It was awful. The things he did to me. The things he did to Shinji. Oh God. He's not okay. It's not okay. Nothing's okay._

_I miss Senpai. Please help me Senpai. Save me and Shinji, please!_

_\--_

_Dear Diary,_

_I saw Senpai at school today. He tried to talk to me, but I ran away. I didn't want him to see what I had become. How corrupt I was. God, what did I do to deserve this? And Shinji, what did he do? Neither of us deserve this. Senpai... Please..._

_\--_

_Dear Diary,_

_Grandfather released Shinji today. Told him to wreak havoc. But when Shinji looked at me, it felt like he had a plan._

_Senpai, please. Save Shinji. He doesn't deserve to become a monster. Please. Please._

_\--_

That was the most recent entry, and the bottom half was unreadable because of the tears on the page. Shaking with uncontrolled rage, Shirou punched the closest wall, causing something to fall in front of him.

Picking it up, Shirou saw it was a picture frame of Shinji and him as children. It was their first picture together. He was dressed in a small beige jumper and blue jeans, while Shinji had a black sweater and blue jeans.

Seeing Shinji's face, even as a child, only reminded Shirou of what he saw from the beast. No. From Shinji.

His face was beneath the layers of rope-like tendrils. His frizzy blue-hair was the same as normal, but it was his face. His jaw had deformed, the bone pushing out of it and growing around into a sort-of mask, and his eyes had changed.

The sclera were black instead of white, and his left eye's iris had turned red. But his right iris had mostly retained its colour. It was also in that eye that his feelings could be conveyed.

The pain he was in, the fear he felt, the horror, and the anger. But also a plea. The other eye, however, only conveyed a bestial rage, a desire to rip his opponents apart.

Shaking his head from the images, Shirou left the room and headed back down the hallway. Going down the right path, he entered the kitchen, which was empty. The food cabinets were clean of any ingredients, as was the fridge.

Seeing the room held no purpose, he went to the stairs leading upward. The second floor was quite similar to the first, only the right path lead to a living room rather than a kitchen.

Starting this time with the right path, and entering the living room, he saw nothing unusual. Nothing below the seats, or behind the television. The only unusual thing was how the television was unplugged.

Leaving for the left path, Shirou again crossed two doors. The first was locked, but the second wasn't. The moment Shirou stepped in, he was overwhelmed with the smell of age and rot.

Looking around, he saw nothing that would give the impression of age or rot. Trying to shake it off, but failing due to the piercing stench, Shirou began to look around the room. It had the sheer volume of Shinji's room, but the order of Sakura's.

It was full of old and fading books. The newest things were what was on the desk.

They were research notes. Research notes on the possible health benefits of Oracle Cells including... immortality?

Next to the notes was a key, with a message.

"Come down to me, Emiya."

Picking up the key, Shirou did another once over of the room, before exiting and going to the only locked door he came across. Slotting the key into the keyhole, and turning, Shirou heard no click, instead feeling the key jam.

Pulling it out, and wondering where he had to go, he racked his brain before deciding to go downstairs, as the note told him to go down.

Going downstairs, Shirou then began to thoroughly examine the floor, starting in the kitchen, then working his way into the hallway. As he crossed the stairs, he accidentally bumped something with his foot that lightly jingled.

Turning behind him, he then examined the floor beneath his feet, until he saw a lock under the stairwell.

Kneeling and sliding the key into the lock, he turned it and heard the click. Pulling the lock off, he then grabbed the false-floor's latch and turned it, before opening the false-floor.

If the room with the notes smelt of age and rot, this place bathed in it. The opening revealed a stone stairwell, lit by sconces, and with the end too far away to see.

Taking his first step on the stairwell, Shirou said,

"Don't worry. I'll save you both. I promise."

***Page Break***

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, yeah, 2 long chapters. Well, long-ish. I took 2 days to write last chapter because of a negative review that gave valid points. To show I can do better, I wanted to spend twice as much time on a chapter to make it twice as long. It only reached 2K words, but that was pure story. **

**Second, so Shinji's kind of a cool guy. I mentioned that he wasn't an asshole, and I meant it.**

**Third, I don't know how to do Sakura's diary. I haven't watched or played Heaven's Feel. By the same token, I don't know where the trapdoor actually is, so I guessed it was underneath the stairs.**

**Fourth, when imagining Shinji, just look at him in Fate/kaleid Oath Under Snow.**

**Fifth, real talk. This story isn't great, but it isn't awful. It means a lot to me that there are people that like it, but if someone has constructive criticism, I appreciate it. I've only recently gotten an idea of where this story's going, so I'm gonna try and follow through.**

**Thank you to mauraman3000, ironpotato, ptl again, and sawtooth44 again for reviewing, and thank you dragonlord9977, Exoa, robocoaster, DEADpyrox, lubabpaul, Oniner, and Dragonmaster69 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 2363**


	17. Old Man's Desire Black Petals Part 1

**Warning: Minor spoilers for Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel at the end.**

***Page Break***

The passage was long.

After grabbing his God Arcs, Shirou had walked down the flight of stairs. When a few minutes had passed, he began to count the number of steps he was taking. After passing 1000, he tried running.

Almost slipping persuaded him from that course of action. So now, he was fighting his irritation, instead taking note of the tunnel's condition.

As he went deeper, the stairs and walls became more slippery and haggard with moss. Even the somehow lit sconces were looking old, not just in appearance, but also in the strength of its flame.

Deeper Shirou went. Deeper and deeper and deeper, until it suddenly evened out, becoming a hallway that ended in a wooden door.

Blinking from the break in monotony, Shirou then reassumed a cautious stance as he walked to the door. The hallway was more similar to the beginning of the stairwell than the end.

Reaching the door, Shirou put his ear against it, trying to hear what was on the other side. There was nothing but the slight sound of slithering.

Breathing in, Shirou took one step away from the door, before kicking the door open. Jumping through, Shirou immediately went to attack whatever was there, only to see...

Nothing. It was a large empty room, with a stairwell leading from the door to the ground, and a pit in the centre.

But where was the slithering coming from? Looking around, Shirou decided to start with the most suspicious place first. Walking towards the pit, he knelt over to look inside.

It was empty, but at the base, there were slight groove marks. Wanting to investigate, Shirou dropped into the pit, and walked to the centre, where the deepest grooves were.

This was a mistake.

"**Grooooooaaaaaaaarrraaaaa!!!**"

With a roar, the ground below Shirou broke, and from below came tendrils.

The same tendrils from before. Wrapping around his arms, and aiming the unused tendrils blade first at him.

Looking down, Shirou saw the hulking form of Shinji, only now it was less composed than before, constantly moving.

"Hahahahaha..."

Shirou's attention was then captured by the sound of a dry chuckle, which then grew to a bellowing laugh on the edge of a coughing fit.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

The noise was coming from an old, frail looking man, more in line with a skeleton than a person.

"Ah, good show Emiya. But it seems your adventure has come to an end."

The voice was familiar. Racking his brain, Shirou realized who the figure before him was.

"No way... Zouken? What happened to you?"

The old man was named Zouken Matou, and was the grandfather of Shinji and Sakura. Normally he was a normal looking old man. Frizzy hair, similar to Shinji's, but shorter and white, and grey eyes like Shinji too.

"Heh. This? This is the fruits of my labour."

"The fruits of your labour? Whatever, where's Sakura!?"

Smirking disgustingly, Zouken replied,

"Oh, her? My most successful failure? Why, she's nearby. But you'll see her later. For now, you should worry for yourself."

As he said that, the tendrils binding Shirou's arms seemed to tighten, before throwing him into the wall.

Hitting the wall, Shirou fell, then rolled to his feet. As he did, Shinji leapt straight towards him.

Stepping forward, Shirou leapt underneath Shinji, before turning to begin his assault.

Shirou slashed diagonally with Bakuya, severing 3 tendrils on Shinji's back, before slashing sideways with Kanshou, severing another 2.

Before he could continue, Shinji spun around, striking him with his bladed tendrils, causing a slight cut on his abdomen, and pushing him back.

"**Graroooooaaaa!!!**"

With a roar, Shinji leapt towards Shirou, bringing his tendril-like arms down to crush him.

Getting back to his feet, Shirou jumped back to avoid the slam attack, before trying to throw Bakuya at Shinji's right arm.

Instead of cutting all the way through the arm, or even cutting some tendrils off and flying away, it became impaled in between two tendrils, sticking in Shinji's right shoulder.

With a light curse from Shirou, and a roar from Shinji, the two ran at each other, Shinji with his arms out, ready to crush Shirou, and Shirou aiming for Bakuya.

As Shinji clapped his tendril arms together, Shirou jumped above them, before landing on it and using it as a stepping stone to leap for his God Arc.

Wrapping his empty right hand around the handle, he used it as a support to stand on Shinji's shoulder, before raising Kanshou and sawing through the tendrils holding Bakuya.

He was only able to saw down to halfway through the second layer before Shinji began to buck his shoulders, trying to remove Shirou. Gritting his teeth, Shirou just sawed faster, until Shinji realized bucking wasn't working, and sent his left tendrils to attack Shirou.

Noticing the tendrils, Shirou jumped off of Shinji's shoulder, rolling onto the floor. Most of Shinji's tendrils pierced into his right shoulder, but a few tracked after Shirou. Using just Kanshou, he deflected and cut dodown those tendrils.

Guessing that Bakuya was loose enough to come out, Shirou called for it. It slowly eased out of the tendrils, before shooting towards Shirou's right hand.

"**Groooaraaaaaaarrr!!!**"

Shinji roared, out of both frustration and pain, before leaping back into the pit, burrowing his tendrils into the floor beneath.

Shirou chased after Shinji, and was about to leap into the pit, before tendrils burst forth from the ground behind him. They lunged for him, and he flipped over them, before severing them.

As they fell, more rose, and Shirou sliced them apart. This continued until there were 40 severed tendrils on the floor.

"**Grrraaaaaa!!!**"

Roaring in pain, Shinji leapt out of the pit, only to be charged mid-air by Shirou, who began ripping and slashing Shinji's midsection, until his head was exposed.

Shirou stared at Shinji's head, which had only further deformed, and into his eyes, which had lost their original colour, turning red and only showing a primal fear and bloodlust.

"**Aaaahhhh!!!**"

With a cry of fear, Shinji used his now bladeless tendrils to wrap around his midsection and throw him away.

As Shinji landed with a confident growl, his vision was suddenly engulfed by red.

While Shirou was flying, he had put his God Arc into Bow mode. Just before he hit the wall, he drew back on the Oracle string to form an Oracle arrow, only for more Oracle than normal to siphon into the neon-green shot, turning it into a crimson-red.

As he released the string, Shirou's mind flashed to an image of a man kneeling, holding a large black bow and a spiral sword at the bowstring. Pulling it back, the man yelled,

"**Calad**-"

"-Bolg!"

With that cry, the Oracle arrow struck Shinji's face, and detonated in an explosion three times as big as normal.

Hitting the wall, and landing on his knees, Shirou stood up, bleeding from the few cuts he got and from his nose. He walked over to the smoking form of Shinji.

Stepping onto him, he then walked over to where Shinji's head was, only to see the surrounding tendrils eradicated, and further tendrils burnt, with Shinji's head almost completely intact.

Breathing hard was Shinji, his red eyes starting to turn back into a grey.

"**Hey... Shirou...**"

Kneeling down to Shinji, Shirou responded,

"Shinji... Shinji, I'm sorry..."

"**Don't... worry abou... about it...**"

With shaking hands, Shirou reached out for Shinji's head, only for Shinji to continue.

"**Hey... Shirou... Was... Was I... a good friend?**"

Blinking, both from confusion and the slight burning in his eyes, Shirou answered with a slightly dry voice.

"Yeah. Yeah, you were a great friend. My best."

Smiling slightly, or what Shirou imagined was smiling, Shinji continued.

"**Good. That's... good. I was... jealous... of you... when we were younger... How you could... say with conviction... your dreams... I'm glad... I never betrayed you... You'll achieve... your dream... I know it... Shirou...**"

Gritting his teeth, Shirou closed his eyes, and cursed. He cursed Zouken, he cursed himself, he cursed the world that let this happen. But he knew that if he had kept a better eye on Shinji, had investigated the Matou's earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

Shirou's self-loathing was interrupted by a groan from Shinji, and some twitching from his body.

"**Sorry... Shirou... Looks like... my time is... almost up... So hurry... and end me...**"

Clenching his fists, Shirou unattached his God Arcs and rose Bakuya, aiming the tip at Shinji's head.

"**Save... Sakura...**"

Lowering the blade in an instant, and feeling it sink through Shinji's skull and into his brain, Shirou cursed.

"Damnit Shinji..."

Letting go of his God Arcs, and putting his head in his hands, he ground his hands, and growled, and eventually yelled out his frustration.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"

Letting it all out, Shirou then just stayed on his knees, not moving.

After a while, he then began to move again, just slightly moving to grab his God Arcs, before...

"Gahh!"

Shirou was impaled through the chest by a black ribbon that was extending from the shadow of a girl. A familiar girl. A girl with white hair, and red eyes, and a red ribbon in her hair.

Next to her was Zouken, again smirking disgustingly, saying,

"How do you like her? This is my granddaughter, Sakura Matou. You said you wanted to see her?"

Then the girl, the one that couldn't be Sakura, but very much was Sakura, giggled, saying,

"Hello there, Senpai~."

***Page Break***

Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, hey, a one and a half thousand word chapter. I wanna say, again, I haven't watched or played Heaven's Feel, so I got no idea on Zouken's personality. Also, spoilers for Heaven's Feel. I may not have watched it, but I know the plot.

Second, this felt like a mess, but maybe that's what it's meant to be. I hope you guys enjoyed it at least.

Thank you army.skeleton, greatorian, NecrorexSparda Juubi-No-Kishin, and Manny190 for favouriting or following.

Goodbye.

Word count: **1575**


	18. Old Man's Desire Black Petals Interlude

"Ah man... Where is he?"

"I do not know, Captain, but we are likely on the correct path."

"I agree. If the people's reports are accurate, then Emiya was jumping from roof to roof, carrying his God Arcs."

On a road parallel to the Emiya household, three figures were standing around, looking fairly confused. These three were Shirou's teammates, Kota Fujiki, Rin Tohsaka, and Saber.

They had been sent after Shirou by Doctor Sakaki after seeing Shirou storm out of the Den, being told he would likely need backup, and that they should bring their God Arcs.

Now here they were, in the emptier streets of town, lost without eyewitnesses to point them in the right direction.

Their collective pondering was disrupted by a loud proclamation from a weird woman with brown hair and eyes.

"Hey, you three! Do I know some of you!?"

Running towards the trio, the woman, who exuded an almost childlike aura, began looking closely at them, mumbling lightly before clicking her fingers with an 'Aha!'

"I know you!" she yelled, pointing at Kota.

"You're one of Shirou's God Eater friends! You visited him when he was hospitalized!"

Blinking, Kota pointed at himself, silently asking if she meant him, before taking on a look of deep concentration. Snapping his fingers, he responds,

"Oh yeah, you were that crazy lady that smothered Shirou. Taiga, right?"

Smiling and nodding, Taiga responded,

"Uhuh. Yep, that's right. Wait..."

Suddenly, an aura of death surrounded her.

"Don't call me Taiga!!!"

***Page Break - After Beating Kota Up***

"Man... She's like a beast."

"Don't worry Captain. It was at least funny."

"... That doesn't make me feel better."

After Taiga had destroyed Kota, she and the two girls had a conversation about Shirou's whereabouts, where they learned where Shirou's house was.

Turned out, Taiga was also heading to find Shirou. When they arrived at his house, they discovered it was empty.

Taiga asked if Shirou said anything that stood out to them, that might indicate where he could have gone.

The three, two really since Kota was still out of it, racked their brains. It was Rin that answered, saying,

"I remember him saying a name. Something-ji. It ended with a -ji."

Tilting her head, Taiga thought on it before supplying,

"Shinji?"

"Yeah, Shinji. That's it."

"Shinji, huh? That's Shirou's best friend. His house is down the road that way. The two story one with the gate out front."

So there they were, moving down the road to the Matou residence. There was no one around, and it was deathly quiet. The only thing Kota could do was chat to fill the empty air.

As they walked, and he talked, they all began to really worry about Shirou. It wasn't normal for Shirou to ignore people, it wasn't normal for Shirou to be angry, and it certainly wasn't normal for Shirou to act needlessly aggressive to others.

Not only that, but he ran out of the Den carrying his God Arcs, which is automatically a call for alarm.

Reaching the Matou residence, they all stopped worrying, instead deciding to just find Shirou.

At the gate, they wondered if they should knock or open it, until Rin just hopped over it, prompting the others to do the same.

Reaching the door, Kota went to knock only to see it open. With slightly more concern, Kota walked into the building, before calling out,

"Shirou!? Mr. Matou!? Shinji!? Anyone home!?"

Waiting for a moment, and hearing no response, Kota gestured for the other two to enter with him. Beyond the door, the path immediately split in two directions, and a stairwell.

Peeking down all three paths, Kota decided to split the party, with him taking upstairs, Rin taking the left path, and Saber taking the right.

It wasn't long before Rin came across the trapdoor, and gathered the others. Looking into the depths, they all took a deep breath, before taking the stairs down.

They walked for a while.

***Page Break - Continuing from last chapter***

Gasping from the pain, Shirou stuttered out,

"S-Sakura..."

With a giggle, Sakura responded.

"Now, now, Senpai. You should just be quiet and rest. After all, aren't you tired from fighting Shinji?"

Groaning, Shirou tried to raise his arm, only to slump back down. Looking to Zouken, he began to cough, until he was able to cough out a question.

"W-Wha *cough* What did you *cough* do to her!?"

With a chuckle, Zouken answered,

"Oh, nothing much. Just infected her with some Oracle Cells taken from a Humanoid Aragami, modified from the ones Shinji was infected with."

Spitting out some blood, Shirou responded,

"You... bastard... Change her back..."

Raising a brow, Zouken mockingly said,

"Oh? Why should I change her back? Why don't you just kill her, like you did Shinji?"

Grunting again, Shirou tried to raise his arm again, this time being able to bring it to the tendrils impaling him, but lacked the strength to sever it.

"Hahahahahaha! How pathetic! Where is your fire, boy? Weren't you going to save her? Well, too bad! She will be like this as long as our Oracle Cells are linked!"

Suddenly, Shirou stopped moving, before turning his head from Sakura's slightly psychotic smile, to Zouken's degrading face.

"So, Sakura's like this, because you're here?"

Chuckling lightly, Shirou slowly raised his right arm, before elaborating,

"So if you die, I can save Sakura?"

He then threw Bakuya at Zouken with all his might. Some black tendrils spread from Sakura to intercept Bakuya, but were only able to slightly alter its trajectory. It struck Zouken in the chest and... flew straight through. No traction. No blood.

Dumbstruck, Shirou just watched as Zouken's body separated into smaller parts, listening to his chuckling.

"What? Did you really think it would be that easy? Of course I wouldn't come here without some way to protect myself! This has all been for my goal to reach immortality! And I am finally on the cusp! But, I am missing something. Something... unique. A natural mix between human and Oracle. Do you know something like that, Emiya?"

Shirou kept silent, instead just glaring at Zouken, who had reformed, and trying to subtly retrieve Bakuya, only to silently curse at his lacking amount of energy.

"Oh? You won't talk? That's fine. I'll just make you. Sakura! Hold him up."

"Yes Grandfather."

Besides the tendril impaled through Shirou's midsection, Sakura rose more black tendrils to wrap around his arms, legs, and neck, to keep him standing straight mid-air.

"Now then, where to begin? Ah, I know."

Walking forward, Zouken raised his arm, and had it separate and reform into a giant claw, similar to an ant's mandible.

Being close enough to Shirou, he then thrust his claw into Shirou's left leg, just above the knee, and dragged downward, making sure to avoid the bone.

Shirou recoiled with a muffled cry, before shaking his head and ignoring the pain.

"Oh? Not enough? Then how about..."

Walking behind him, Zouken separated and reformed his back into wings reminiscent of an insect's, before taking flight, and lightly drawing his blade across Shirou's back.

He then pierced the skin, slowly, until he reached the spine. He then, slowly again, dragged the claw downwards, until he reached Shirou's tailbone.

This time, Shirou had to bite his lip hard enough to draw blood to prevent outright screaming.

"Just a little more I think."

Floating so he was facing Shirou, Zouken moved his claw over to Shirou's left arm, before just ripping into it.

Muscles, ligaments, bones, he just kept slicing and slicing, wanting to make Shirou feel pain.

"Ah!"

Finally unable to contain it, Shirou cried out in pain, and dropped Kanshou as his arm could barely twitch anymore.

"Ah, there we go. Now, tell me what I want to know, or I'll rip apart this next."

Zouken then gestured to Shirou's Armlet. This action made Shirou run cold. If his Armlet was broken, then he would become an Aragami. That means he would hurt people. Kill people. He doesn't want that. He only wants to help. He would rather die.

But...

But he didn't...

He didn't want... To betray someone he swore to protect...

Whether he should fight for his dream, and live, or keep his promise, and become an Aragami, was a decision he was at war with himself over.

"Hmph. No answer? Then this is the end."

Raising his claw, Zouken prepared to rip apart Shirou's Armlet, until...

"Shirou!!!"

"Gandr!"

Two attacks made if Oracle all aimed at Zouken appeared from the entry door. And while he had gotten away unscathed, he was no longer close enough to cut him down.

Instead, Shirou was now being held by...

"Thanks... Saber..."

"Do not worry. You fool."

After cutting him free of the tendrils that still held oon and weren't destroyed by the Iracle shots, Saber dragged him back with her and landed near Rin and Kota, who now stood protectively around Shirou.

"Ah. It seems we have more guests. Sakura, would you mind entertaining them while I have a talk with Emiya?"

"Yes Grandfather."

With that, the greater part of the Operation, dubbed "The Madman's Desire; Black Petals", had begun.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, oh God, if I felt the last one was bad, then this one felt worse. It doesn't help that I was distracted while writing most of it, as I was watching a 5 hour critique of Persona 5. Anywho, I'm glad to see a lot of people were feeling sympathetic for Shinji. Just goes to show, you can make any character sympathetic when you make them make good choices in life, but still fuck them over.**

**Second, hey look, Taiga. She's here. She's gone Tiger mode. And she's gone. Buh-bye!**

**Third, trying to differentiate between Rin speaking politely and Saber's normal speech is a bit difficult, but I like to think that Saber doesn't speak in contractions. So instead of saying it's or can't, she'd say it is and can not.**

**Thank you to Glory over a new dawn, JawsOnYou67, and ljohnkelmer for favouriting or following, and thank you to mauraman3000 again, Glory over a new dawn, ptl again, and XenoVise for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 1535**


	19. Old Man's Desire Black Petals End

The combat had begun with a bang.

Sakura made the first move, sending her tendrils at the three standing from both sides at once. They all jumped, with Rin and Kota moving to the left and right of the room, while Saber held onto Shirou.

Rin and Kota began shooting at Zouken and Sakura, although, the latter was targeted with slight hesitation.

Zouken just chuckled as he split around the shots, while Sakura giggled, moving the tendrils to block them.

From there Sakura just attacked Rin and Kota with her tendrils, while Zouken slowly walked towards Shirou and Saber. Rin and Kota fired at Sakura, trying to beat her back without majorly injuring her, but Saber was hesitant at attacking Zouken and leaving Shirou. Before the indecision could screw her over, Shirou painfully bent upward and rasped,

"Target him... If you kill him... then Sakura will... go back to normal..."

Blinking, Saber looked at Shirou with concern, before nodding and moving to confront Zouken.

"Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of protecting Emiya, you're coming right at me?"

"I cannot defeat you and free the girl without getting closer."

"Ha! Then come as close as you like!"

With that, the two rushed at each other, Zouken raising his claw for a thrust and Saber raising her blade to parry. With a clash they collided.

Saber had diverted Zouken's claw to the side, before making a sideways slash, trying to bisect him. The blade connected, but just flowed through him as he separated and reformed around it.

While Saber stared in slight shock, having seen him reform around the Oracle shots earlier but not expecting it. Zouken then reformed his other arm into a claw, and struck at Saber.

Catching the attack just in time, Saber spun out of the range of the attack, before following up with a volley of strikes. Downward slash, diagonally upward to the right, another slash to the left, more and more, faster and faster. But all he did was morph around it. Feeling slight frustration from the pointlessness of her actions, and a bit upset at Shirou's state, Saber pushed some of her Oracle energy into Excalibur, causing it to flare up as it connected.

This time, even though it still slipped through him, it went through roughly, and Zouken grimaced with pain, before flying a ways back. Putting his hand to his chest where he was struck, he muttered to himself,

"So, it seems strong enough Bias Factors can interrupt my own Oracle Cells. That's what the research suggested, but it's nice to know. I really need to find that perfect specimen." He then looked to Shirou, who appeared to know someone that could fit the criteria, before looking to Saber.

"By this point, she's likely already figured out that her Oracle attacks can injure me." Cracking his neck, he then continued, "Looks like I'll need to approach this with more caution."

Stepping forward, he then turned his claws and wings back to their normal state, before forcing his fingers into his chest and letting out a choked gasp.

His body started to deform, before settling into a larger shape. Longer than Shinji's own corpse, which was large in its own right, and in three segments, similar to an ant. It had two large claws coming out of its abdomen, and four smaller claws coming out of where the thorax would be. And from the back of his abdomen appeared two large insect wings. However, at the same time...

"Ahhh!!!"

Sakura had fallen onto her knees, clutching her hands to her chest. She was shaking from pain, an expression of anguish on her face, before she began to vomit blood. Kota and Rin watched on in concern and morbid fascination, until the tendrils that had gone limp from her pain began to cocoon around her, forming a bud of black tendrils. With another cry, more tendrils burst out of the bottom of the bud, before flailing around wildly, destroying the ground around it and carving out some of the roof, which miraculously held.

All Rin and Kota could do was dodge and watch Saber, who had then begun combat with the old man-turned-bug monster.

Zouken began to wildly swing his arms, attempting to bisect Saber. Saber began to dodge over and under each strike, and when they both came at the same time, she used Excalibur as a fulcrum, blocking both blades while pulling herself above them.

When both claws were blocked, Saber brought herself down on the upper claw, and jumped upward, pulling her sword out of the stone floor. Being high enough, she then charged Excalibur with Oracle, and swung downward at Zouken's now bug-like head, complete with mandibles and refractory eyes.

Though it is physically impossible, Saber would swear that Zouken's bug-eyes widened, before he started to deform his head. It was, however, slower than usual. As such, Saber was able to get decent traction, and begun to pierce his hard chitin shell, getting an inch deep, before her blade began to sink through him, her Oracle causing a slight sizzling sound as it went through Zouken's reforming body.

While Zouken was stunned, both from the pain of being cut and being eaten from the inside, like an immune system consuming a bacteria, Saber moved forward. Reaching Zouken's legs, Saber took a chance on Zouken's stunned state and swung at the joint between hisfront right leg's chitinous armour.

While the blade did pierce, it only produced a shallow cut. With a breath, Saber charged up her next strike, before releasing it into the same leg. The blow was capable of lightly cutting the chitin, but cutting to nearly halfway through the leg, causing Zouken to stumble slightly.

But it was at that point that Zouken was no longer stunned from the pain, now used to it and capable of ignoring the pain coming from his leg. Taking flight, he left Saber's immediate range, before reforming just his abdomen to have more chitinous armour and dropping, aiming to crush Saber.

Seeing it coming, Saber jumped right at Zouken, pumping Oracle into Excalibur to prepare for their collision. But before they could collide...

"Saber! Look out!"

Saber was struck from behind by one of the rampaging black tendrils, making her lose her concentration and causing the Oracle energy she was building to run rampant and release. It resulted in a golden explosion that barely touched Zouken, but shot Saber downwards, well within Sakura's range.

With great concern, Rin and Kota ran to grab Saber, who had dropped Excalibur somewhere between Shirou and Zouken.

"Hey, Saber! Hey!"

Shaking her, Kota and Rin looked down in fear for her safety, before looking to see that Sakura's cocoon had gone still, and Zouken, who had landed, was silently stalking towards them, before cackling.

"Hahahahahahahaha! To think, I worried so much against a little girl and her friends. Now I'll finish you off and continue my talk with Emiya."

Raising a massive claw, and preparing to rip them apart like an executioner and their scythe, Rin and Kota raised their God Arcs, ready to defend, but not having high hopes in their chances. But as his claw lowered towards them...

"Rho... Aias..."

A pink, seven-petalled flower appeared in front of them, blocking and even deflecting Zouken's claw. Behind the shield, holding his hands upward as if he were carrying the entire shield, was Shirou. Still covered in wounds, he stood upright, as if nothing could bring him down.

Deactivating Rho Aias, Shirou tossed a worried look over his shoulder at Saber, before giving them all a smile and telling them to stay safe. Taking a step forward, he entered a combat stance.

Zouken, no longer reeling from being deflected, brought down his other claw on Shirou. But Shirou merely raised his arms, keeping the two God Arcs locked at the hilt to catch his claw.

Landing the blow, Zouken's claw was caught by Shirou, but almost crushed him. Feeling his knees almost giving in, Shirou tried what he saw Saber do, and channelled his Oracle into his God Arcs. He was able to push back Zouken's claw, even forcing him off-kilter. But the result was what stuck with Shirou.

In his mind, his God Arcs, his Partners, his Unlimited Blade Works, were screaming in pain from the attempt. On the blades, he could see minute cracks, showing how this was too much for them. Besides that, he felt an intense burning pain in his left arm, and, looking over, could see that the tan had begun to continue making its way up his arm, with the neon-green veins flowing through it.

He couldn't help but flash back to what the man on the hill had told him.

_"__It'll start with your arm, but it'll consume the rest of you later."_

Shirou was beginning to feel he should've put more stock in what the man said. But as long as he could use his pain, even his death, to save someone, he would be fine with it.

Ignoring the strange sigh of disappointment in his head, he chased after Zouken. Moving to the leg Saber had been attacking earlier, as Zouken hadn't reformed it, Shirou began to swung at the gaping wound with his Oracle reinforced swings.

In 4 chops, he had severed the leg, causing Zouken, and his God Arcs, to cry out from the pain. Instead of the severed leg deforming and reforming itself, it just stayed there, similar to Shinji's body.

Zouken slightly collapsed due to missing a leg, now no longer having complete balance. He was leaned over, using his claw on the right side to support himself. Shirou took this opportunity to attack Zouken's head, before he could reform his leg.

Jumping, Shirou brought down Kanshou onto the cut in Zouken's head Saber left, and piercing deeply. Zouken flinched, and brought up his left claw to attack Shirou, only for Shirou to parry it. Both of these reinforced actions caused his blades to crack more. Zouken's attack did, however, succeed in dislodging Shirou from his head.

Shirou, tumbling on the floor, brought himself up at the same time as Zouken, who had finally reformed his leg. From that point, the two then began a fast bout of striking and deflecting, from Zouken and Shirou respectively. But, every time Shirou parried a blow, his God Arcs would shatter a little more, until, with one final upwards strike, Shirou's God Arcs had shattered.

While the core part of the blade had remained, most of the extermities had been broken to pieces, like glass. With a cackle, Zouken mocked the boy.

"Haha! Your God Arc has broken!? Do you even understand what that means!? Your God Arc is now dead, and useless against Aragami! Victory is mine!"

He then lunged forward, but felt a chill go down his spine when he saw Shirou's now narrowed steel grey eyes. Raising his now almost entirely tan left arm, Shirou responded,

"Is that what you think? Too bad, you old fool." Clenching his fist, Shirou then yelled out, "Burst!"

At that moment, time seemed to stop for the old Matou. From right in front of him, he could see it. A tiny glimmer, neon-green in colour, just before Shirou's outstretched hand. From that, another glimmer, and another, all differing sizes and shapes, but all on a path towards and around him.

Then, time resumed, and an explosive chain reaction took place. Every glimmer he had seen exploded, causing the next and the next to explode as well, until it entirely engulfed him, burning him from the inside and out, as he could feel the Oracle eating away at him.

Shirou was also blown away, since he was holding the original explosion at point blank. Getting up, and being glad that it was only his hand that was injured and not his Armlet, he groggily looked over to see if Zouken was still there, only to see...

"Hah... hah..."

The old man Zouken, significantly shakier and paler than when he first saw him, standing in the carcass of what was the bug monster Zouken. Zouken was looking at Shirou with fear and shock.

"W-What... What are you!? Your God Arc shattered, but you were still somehow able to control it!? How!? What kind of monster are you!?"

"I'm a monster? Then what does that make you, a bastard that experimented on his own grandchildren, just to become immortal!?"

"It wasn't just to become immortal! It was to fulfill a promise! A promise to... to..."

"To what?"

"I... I can't remember... I just knew I would die before I could achieve it... So I threw myself into researching how to become immortal..."

"..."

Being silent, Shirou began to stalk over to Zouken, who had begun mumbling over why he was doing this, and what his promise was. As Shirou got incredibly close, the Zouken that was self-righteous, and the Zouken that was confused, disappeared for the "normal" Zouken to appear.

"Oh? If you attack me, then who's going to save them?"

He says this gesturing over to Rin, Kota, and Saber, who were all stunned by the massive explosion, and at the black tendrils seeming to be controlled autonomously by Zouken from an unconscious Sakura.

Seeing that they were about to strike, Shirou threw his broken remnants of Kanshou and Bakuya at them, causing them to miss. This, however, gave Zouken the opportunity to, slowly, form a tendril from his arm, piercing Shirou and pushing him back to the other three on his knees.

Seeing Shirou on his knees, impaled and suffering what Kota recognizes as Oracle Cell Erosion, the three tried to reach out for him, but were still in a daze.

"Hahaha. Looks like I win anyways. Wouldn't you say, Emiya?"

Pulling his left arm upwards to grasp onto the tendril, Shirou slowly lowered his right arm, and mumbled something under his breath.

"Hm? What was that, boy?"

Leaning forward, pushing himself further onto the tendril, Shirou repeated, louder,

"Even if it's the end, it's not finished yet!"

He then wrapped his hand around the handle of a blade, and cried out in pain.

"Ah!!"

Rin, Kota, and Sakura, being closer, looked to Shirou's right hand, only to see him holding Excalibur, which had been pushed near the trio by the explosion. They then all cried out in alarm.

"Shirou!"

"Shirou!!"

"Emiya!"

Zouken, in comparison, saw what Shirou was doing and laughed.

"Do you really desire death so much, boy? Are you unaware that touching another God Eater's God Arc results in one being devoured? I could have at least granted you a less painful death. After a few talks."

But Shirou didn't respond. Couldn't. Because he was in his own mind, his plain of blades, trying to overpower this blade, which was calling for its wielder, not him. He was trying to force his Oracle into it, and while it was slightly receptive, it still rejected him and tried to consume him.

This continued on until a voice rang in his mind.

_"Enough already."_

It was the voice of that man on the hill. Suddenly, Excalibur stopped resisting as much, and Shirou stopped forcing in his Oracle.

_"You're not meant to force swords to your will. You are a sword. You're meant to sympathise with it. Now close your eyes, and become one with it."_

Doing as he was told, Shirou closed his eyes and focused on himself. He followed the flow of his Bias Factor through his body, until he reached his right hand. From there, he could sense pathways between himself and the blade, but minute ones at that.

Following them, and trying not to force his Oracle into the pathways, he reached the core of Excalibur. With a deep breath, he jumped into the core of Excalibur. The memories of the God Arc.

***Page Break - Around 20 Years Ago***

The God Arc was forged with several others, all of them with the purpose to be the strongest God Arc of their kind, for their strongest wielders.

It was based off of a previous God Arc model, and shared the same name, but was designed to allow an overabundance of Oracle Energy to flow throughout it.

It was a golden Blade, with a blue handle and Buckler, made for use by one person. It was Excalibur, a Sword of Humanity's Hope.

***Page Break***

The first time it was held by its wielder, the wielder was young, 15 years old, and didn't scream, despite the painful process of becoming a God Eater.

She was a Prototype God Eater, named a Servant, designated as Saber. There were six other Prototype Servants, but none of them really knew each other that well.

When the three-bangled Armlet, reminiscent of a handcuff, was attached to her, she was congratulated on her surviving the experiment. She was stiff, and cold, and did not respond.

***Page Break***

The first time the God Arc tasted blood, the wielder was sent on a mission with another God Eater to fight a Kongou. The other God Eater was a man, much taller than Saber, but with the same blonde hair and emerald eyes. Dressed in blue, and wielding the original Excalibur God Arc in all its steel-grey glory, one wouldn't be blamed for thinking the two were related.

This was not the case. The man was here to make sure Saber did alright, and wasn't severely hurt. But he was also here out of concern for her, as the two had known each other since childhood.

The mission went smoothly, with Saber almost directing the Kongou in a single slash. The man merely looked on in concern.

***Page Break***

The first time the God Arc felt something, was the first time in the five years they've been together that its wielder cried. It was raining, and they had been fighting an Orobouros, when, from out of nowhere, an Amaterasu appeared, and took out most of Saber's exhausted team.

With just her and Arthur, the man that had been on her first mission with her, they defeated the Amaterasu, but still took some painful blows.

As the battle winded down, Saber was left to look upon the muddy battlefield, and see the dead forms of her comrades, her family, scattered about. Lancelot, Bedivere, Gawain, Galahad, Tristan, and even Mordred...

But the hardest blow to her was when Arthur fell to his knees, holding his side. Rushing over, Saber asked what was wrong, only to see a deep wound, likely piercing his lung, and a copious amount of blood.

Hugging him from a kneeling position, Saber put weight on his wound, and begged for him to stay, to not leave her behind. All he did was weakly wrap his arms around her and whisper,

"Thank you... Artoria."

Feeling him go limp in her arms, Saber had begun to cry, from the grief of losing everything at once. From that day on, her God Arc would try to send her emotional reinforcement, but was never sure if it was actually heard.

***Page Break***

The first time the God Arc had felt rage, was when its wielder was transferred to the Far East Branch, and was partnered up with Kiritsugu Emiya.

He wielded a simple Shotgun God Arc, that somehow exuded a menacing aura. What was bad were the missions they were deployed on. The eradication of Aragami wasn't bad, if anything it became therapeutic to its wielder.

It was the missions where they killed God Eaters that made Saber, and her God Arc in effect, hate Kiritsugu. They went all over the place, killing God Eaters that had rebelled against Fenrir, God Eaters on the cusp of turning, and even God Eaters that took civilians hostage.

It wasn't necessarily the killing part she hated, which she did. It was the fact that Kiritsugu always approached it with the same empty look in his eye, and never reacted to anything, be it a plea for mercy or a heartfelt thank you. It was because he was like a machine that Saber hated him. Because she was reminded of her own self.

However, on that fateful night, where that hell became a reality, she had found another reason to hate him.

***Page Break***

The first time the God Arc felt nostalgia, and a sense of familiarity, its wielder was standing in front of a boy on the floor, with red hair and golden eyes.

Saber had been brought back to the Far East Branch after 10 years, and her first job was to aid a rookie that had been assaulted by two Vajra. However, what she found was a boy that pulled at her heart with a strange sense of familiarity.

As the two stared at each other, unbeknownst to them, their God Arcs and Armlets began to glow, neon-green and gold respectively. Their moment was interrupted by a Vajra.

***Page Break***

Opening his eyes, Shirou saw, in his world of blades, that Excalibur had stopped resisting. Before he could use it, however, it wanted to say something.

_"Shirou Emiya. I will lend you my power. But I ask that you protect my wielder, not just from physical harm, but also from her own self and her broken heart."_

Looking at Excalibur, which in his mind had become a man with blonde hair and emerald eyes, similar in appearance to the man Shirou had seen in Excalibur's memories, he nodded, saying,

_"I swear I will protect her. I'll swear it on my life."_

Smiling, Excalibur stood and smiled.

_"Good. Now then," _pointing ahead of Shirou, back to reality and Zouken, he continued, _"finish him."_

In reality, Excalibur, which had its Aragami core working its way up Shirou's arm, had stopped, taking its core back into itself. With that, Shirou slowly pushed himself up, from being on both knees, to one knee, to standing, using the tendril impaling him as support. Then he began to raise his arm, bringing Excalibur upwards, and charging it with what little Oracle he had left, causing more of his body to undergo Oracle Cell Erosion.

"H-How!? That-That cannot be! How are you using someone else's God Arc!? You should be devoured!"

Reaching his peak, Shirou breathed in and out, before bringing the blade down.

"Ex..."

"No!!!"

"CALIBUR!!!"

With that, a massive explosion occurred, a sea of golden light, spreading from Shirou and piercing Zouken, who couldn't react in time.

As the light faded, and Zouken began to turn to dust from having his own Oracle Cells consumed, Shirou dropped Excalibur and collapsed, from the blood loss and the stress on his body and mind.

The three who had been watching the encounter pushed themselves up to help Shirou. As they did, Shinji's corpse also turned to dust, as did Sakura's tendrils, leaving Sakura in her normal appearance.

As the trio took Shirou and Sakura back upstairs, the Operation dubbed "Mad Man's Desire; Black Petals" came to a close.

***Page Break***

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, sorry for taking longer than usual. This chapter is longer than anything else I've written, so yeah.**

**First, yes that was a motherfucking JoJo's reference.**

**Second, ****I cannot remember what an insect's arms are called, so I deferred to calling them claws.**

**Third, it was actually an accident to make Reinforcement a thing. I was just like, "Burst Arts. Make attacks stronger. Oh wait, that's like Reinforcement. What do you know?"**

**Fourth, I tried to make a quote that really fits Fate. Something truly stupid. "Even if it's the end, it's not finished yet!" Did I do okay?**

**Fifth, I know Rin and Kota have been fairly useless and I'm sorry for that. I just can't actively imagine a 3v1 easily.**

**Sixth, sorry for taking longer than usual for this. But this chapter is longer than expected, so I couldn't finish it until today.**

**Thank you to TheOneYouDontSee1a****nd hidingunderyourbed for favouriting and following respectively, and thank you to ptl again and SoftItalics again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****3832**


	20. There's Always A Chance Of Rain

"There. He should be stabilized now. How is she?"

"She's almost perfectly fine. Just need to supplement her with some blood, and she'll be physically perfect. Him, on the other hand... Only he can decide that."

"Then... should I admit the visitors? They're really worried about the two."

"Yeah, just... be gentle."

Saying such, the woman, dressed in a white doctor's uniform, moved to the door out of the Infirmary, followed by a man in the God Arc Engineer's uniform.

Outside the door, the first to jump out was the woman with brown hair and eyes, very quickly followed by the small albino girl.

"How are they!?/How is he!?"

With a long exhale, the doctor answered,

"They're both stabilized. She should be fine in a couple hours. He... well, we'll see."

With a look of both relief and worry on Taiga's face, and only worry on Illya's, they quickly barged past the two that came out of the Infirmary, soon followed by the two other people waiting.

When they all entered the room, they were greeted by two beds, both on opposite sides of the room. One featured a girl with purple hair, wearing a red ribbon. She was connected to an IV drip and a blood bag. The other contained...

"Shirou..."

A boy with a mainly fair face and mainly chilli-red hair. However, creeping up the left side of his face and neck, there was a streak of tan skin, going over his eye and reaching his hair, which had turned snow white in the same place as his skin.

If one were to take off his blanket, they would see his body wrapped in bandages, mostly focused on his arms, his left leg, and his torso. But the most peculiar thing was what was next to the bed. An IV drip and a blood bag, similar to the bed across from him, but what stood out was...

A terminal that was connected to a drip for Bias Factor, which was directly connected to his right arm. Specifically, to the Armlet now on his right wrist, the same in appearance to the one on Saber's.

Besides the two in beds, and the two that barged in, the other two occupants in the room were Saber and Rin Tohsaka. The blonde was looking downwards, feeling guilt for Shirou's condition because he had used her God Arc. Rin was, meanwhile, looking a cross between worried and uncomfortable. While she was close to Shirou, she didn't feel she deserved to be here with the two he basically considered family, and Saber.

Kota wanted to stay, but he had duties as the leader of the First Unit to attend to. He promised he would visit later. Sakaki has also said he would visit later to check on Shirou.

The mood in the room was depressing, and no one made any moves to fix it. Instead, they were interrupted from their brooding by the sound of shuffling from the opposite bed. The first to react was Taiga.

"Sakura!"

Running to her, Taiga quickly dropped down to her knees and took Sakura's hand.

"Hey, Sakura, hey. Don't worry. You're alright. Are you okay?"

With some light moaning, Sakura attempted to open her eyes and failing, before pitifully moaning out,

"Sen...pai... Did... you... save... us...? Sen...pai..."

She then quickly went back into her sleep, with Taiga clutching her hand with a worried expression. The depressing feeling from before came back in full force.

Taiga stayed with Sakura, while Illya sat near Shirou, and Saber just stood nearby, still looking downward. Rin began to fidget, before quietly excusing herself and leaving.

Making her way out of the Infirmary, Rin made a beeline for the elevator. Waiting for it to reach her, she wrung her hands and tugged on her twin-tails. When it finally reached her, she was greeted by Kota, who quickly asked how Shirou and the girl was. Rin told him that the girl was fine, but Shirou was up in the air. With a grim nod, Kota moved past her.

With a sigh, Rin entered the elevator, feeling a bitter sense of irony at the change in music around the Den. Instead of the usual Wolf's Howl, it was now playing the instrumental of a song called God and Man, that, in Rin's opinion, captured the sadness she felt at the situation.

As she got off at the Rookie Floor, Rin didn't pay attention to where she was going, and accidentally bumped into someone standing in the hallway. Stumbling, Rin quickly looked ahead of her to apologize, only to pause and slowly look up at the person head and shoulders taller than her.

"Oh. Sorry about that. Are you alright, Little Miss?"

He was large, not just height-wise, but also muscled. He looked like he could crush a watermelon between his pectoral and bicep, without the boost from his God Eater nature. Aside from his large stature and physique, his own appearance stood out.

Wearing a casual black dress-shirt rolled at the sleeves, and black jeans, his skin was a deep tan and his hair was a white, slicked back and spiky. But it was his face that stood out to her. It was familiar, but still different. As if she were looking at a picture with minute differences to it compared to the original. With a narrow face and narrowed eyes, he looked at her with steel-grey irises, that also felt familiar.

"Hey, Little Miss? You in there?"

Jumping at the sudden snapping in front of her face from the tan man, she briefly looked at the Armlet on his right wrist, which was wrapped in bandages, but had slight holes where a silver gleam could be seen.

Looking back to the tan man, she stood straight and bowed her head apologizing. As she looked back up, she saw the man giving her a strange look. Suddenly, he took a step back and extended his hand.

"It's nice to meet you Little Miss. May I ask for your name?"

Blinking at the sudden courteous, yet slightly confident, tone, Rin thought on whether she should respond or run, before just taking his hand, answering,

"Tohsaka. Rin Tohsaka. What should I call you?"

With a slight smirk, the man responded,

"Well then, Rin. You can call me... Archer."

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, sorry for this not being as long as the last chapter. One reviewer once said that once I got to the meat of my plot, I would start spewing words. For me, I guess that's describing epic battles. Going back to the "normality", I write less I guess.**

**Second, the "Are they okay!?/Is he okay!?" was meant to be Taiga and Illya respectively. In case it was confusing.**

**Third, God and Man. I don't remember what the sad song that played after sad events happened in God Eater was, so I went with this bittersweet work of art.**

**Fourth, Archer calling Rin Little Miss. It's basically English for Ojou-sama, and I feel Archer would, or has, called her that.**

**Fifth, Archer. Yup, that's it.**

**Thank you to kiznaiver, EffectedNote312, and Jamaldrake for following or favouriting, and thank you to sawtooth44 again, mauraman33 again, ptl again, and LoverOfArtemis for reviewing. Also, LoverOfArtemis added this story to a community so... *****shrug***

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 1052**


	21. But Even When It's Pouring

"And you're sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes Miss Fujimura. I'll be fine, so take care of your business."

"Alright, alright. I'll visit later then. Goodbye Sakura!"

"Bye..."

This was the situation playing out in the Infirmary. As Taiga left, Sakura looked around the room. Nothing much has changed, she thought. Same green walls, same wooden chairs, same occupants, same... Senpai.

It had been two weeks since they were both admitted, and in that time Sakura awoke to the sad atmosphere of the room, before being made aware of the situation.

Of the people that knew Shirou, Sakura seemed the most saddened at his condition, only surpassing Illya's own sadness on the basis of guilt.

She was barely able to remember the events that occurred, but she remembered her pleas for Shirou to save her. So, she blamed herself for him being in this condition.

Thinking of her, Sakura looked to the occupant near Shirou's bed. It wasn't just her condition that's changed. Everyone else had as well. Illya spent all of her time at Shirou's side, just keeping watch over him. She was asleep now, but if one looked at her they would see the bags under her eyes.

Taiga had been visiting every morning and afternoon. She normally spent all her time with Sakura, but she occasionally looked over to Shirou with a quick flash of sadness appearing in her normally energetic eyes.

Kota would visit every now and then, but was normally busy on missions or with his team. Same with Sakaki, although he only visited the once and seemed confined to his lab after that.

Saber had begun to avoid the Infirmary, normally taking missions at all times with an expressionless look on her face. But Sakura occasionally saw her hanging near the entryway with a guilt-ridden look on her face. In that regard, Sakura felt she could relate.

It was Rin that really acted weird. Sure, she visited, but normally for very short periods before living. It threw Sakura for a loop, especially because, even though they don't formally know each other, Sakura knew Rin cared for Shirou.

Sighing, Sakura looked back to Shirou, muttering senpai, before she closed her eyes to wait for her period of light walking around the Den to begin.

***Page Break - A few hours later***

Sakura had been walking around the various pathways of the Den for almost an hour. Glancing to the timer she was given, she saw that her time for walking was coming to a near end.

Leaving the hallway, which she recognized as some sort of maintenance hallway, she entered into another, shorter hallway that ended in an elevator. Reaching it, she called it to the Laboratory floor, before having it arrive and entering.

Selecting the Den, she then waited, listening to the song playing in the background. A sad melody, that almost feels like something more. Shaking her head of the depressing thoughts, she thought on how irritating this naming convention was.

There were two elevators, leading to both sides of the Far East Branch. Most people only use the right elevator, but there are floors similar to the right side on the left. The left side was mostly for extra storage, but some side staff worked and lived there. The issue was that both sides shared the same name for all elevator locations. Makes instructions slightly confusing.

Arriving at the Den, she quickly made her way to the elevator on the other side of the floor, before entering and pressing the Laboratory button. As the doors began to close...

"Wait! Hold the door!"

A large tan hand grabbed the door, soon followed by an Armlet wrapped in bandages, a muscled forearm, an upper arm covered in a rolled black dress shirt, then a face that looked strikingly familiar.

Snapping out of her surprise, Sakura hurriedly reached for the button that opened the elevator doors. As she hit it, the door opened and the full man walked in with a sigh of relief.

"Hah. Thanks for that, Miss. It really would've sucked to have to wait for the elevator to arrive again."

Mutely nodding, Sakura investigated the man's features more closely. Fully tan, with white, slicked back hair and steel-grey eyes, he was a handsome man. But it was his face that really threw her off. So familiar, yet not.

Before she could really sink into her wondering, she was interrupted by the man continuing.

"So, why are you going to the Laboratory floor Miss?"

Blinking at the question, she stuttered slightly before answering,

"U-Um. I-I... I'm going back to the Infirmary. I'm still a patient, but I'm almost done healing. Why are you going?"

"Um... Well, I need to visit Doctor Sakaki about a friend, so..."

With a now slightly awkward silence, the two just waited for the elevator to reach its destination, before Sakura said,

"This music... It's sad, isn't it?"

Blinking in confusion, the man took a second to process what she said, before thinking on it and answering,

"I suppose... But I think it's also a slightly happy song... Bittersweet is what I'd call it."

"Bittersweet?"

"Trust me. If you ever listened to the song with the lyrics, you'd understand."

On that note, the elevator was once again filled with silence, but a comfortable one this time.

As the elevator reached its destination, the two got off. Moving down the hallway, they both reached the Infirmary. As they did, the man paused, before holding out his hand, saying,

"It was nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Surprised at his question, Sakura stuttered, with a blush this time, before taking his hand, answering,

"S-Sakura. Sakura Matou. What's yours?"

"Sakura, huh? You can call me Archer. See ya later."

Saying such, he then let go of her hand before turning away, walking down the hallway to Sakaki's office. Sakura watched him, puzzled, but feeling slightly happier than she had earlier.

As Sakura entered the Infirmary, closing the door, Archer stopped, before thinking aloud,

"That's her and Rin. I guess I should speak to Saber next."

Looking up, he then said,

"Honestly. You sure are a troublesome wielder."

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, I've figured how this is gonna work. You should expect another two chapters like this, maybe three, then the plot will continue. Or just go back to the present. Whichever. This story would've been so much better if it just followed chronological order. Ah well.**

**Second, the design of the Far East is different. I'll say that the left side has always existed, it's only in recent years that they added an elevator for the left side.**

**Thank you to LoverOfArtemis and idea.getthe for favouriting or following, and thank you to ptl again and Glory over a new dawn for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: ****1025**


	22. Never Forget

"Good job on the mission Saber. You took down those Hannibals like nothing. But... are you sure you're not overworking yourself? You've been like this ever since Shi-"

"Thank you for your concern," Saber said coldly, "But I'm fine."

Turning from Hibari, Saber made her way to the elevator out. Reaching it, she entered and pressed the button corresponding to the Veteran Section.

Standing quietly, she listened to the music playing, using it as a distraction to her thoughts. It was a sad melody. She vaguely remembered hearing something similar to it after her team...

Shaking her head, the elevator came to a stop. Hurriedly getting off and making her way to her room, she opened the door and entered.

Her room was spartan, the only things in there being a bed, a wardrobe, and a bedside table, on which was a photo frame flipped on its face.

Walking to her wardrobe, she began to take off her combat outfit. Looking at the royal blue colouring only brought up bad memories, but she refuses to wear another outfit because of those same memories.

Sighing, she put on a white nightgown, almost see-through, before walking to her bed and falling in. Hugging her pillow, she hoped she would be free of any nightmares that would interfere with the next day's missions.

***Page Break***

"Arturia..."

Blinking, Saber turned, only to see nothing. It was pitch black, and she was unable to see anything. She called out, trying to find the owner of the voice.

"Arturia..."

There it was. Closer this time. Not only that, but she could hear something else too. Something constant. She called out once again.

"Arturia..."

It was much closer now. And the other sound she heard had gotten clearer. It sounded like... rain? Her surroundings had started to become clear, no longer pitch black. It was like... mud...

No... It couldn't be...

"Arturia..."

Looking down, Saber saw him. Arthur. Blood stained his royal blue coat, and her hands.

"No! No, Arthur, please! Don't leave me!"

She couldn't help it. Seeing it again, she couldn't help but to let out her grief.

She cried and sobbed, until eventually everything faded. Arthur. The rain. The mud. Everything. Back to pitch blackness. But then...

"Saber."

From behind her, a voice rung out. Turning, she caught sight if who it was.

"Shirou..."

Smiling, Shirou told her,

"Don't cry. Everything will be alright. I pro-"

***Page Break***

Gasping, Saber looked around her room, only to see she was alone. Putting her hand to her head, she wondered on the strange dream she had, before shaking her head and getting ready for the day.

Putting on her combat outfit, she left her room and made her way to the vending machine outside her room. Putting in the required number of Fenrir Credits, she began to grab an assortment of the various foods available.

As she began to eat, she sighed, missing the joys of a full meal. But, she figured, this was her punishment for everything she's done. Or wasn't able to do.

Entering the elevator, she selected the Den and listened to the sad music still playing. As the elevator arrived, and she ate the last of her breakfast bars, she exited and made her way to Hibari.

Seeing her approach, Hibari sighed, before asking,

"Here for another mission Saber? Don't worry, we got one. It's just a Borg Camlann in the Infernal Subway. That sound good?"

Seeing Saber mutely nod, Hibari sighed again, before assigning Saber to the mission and giving her the go ahead.

Nodding again, Saber made her way to the God Arc bay. Entering, she saw it was mostly empty, except for one other person, standing in front of a God Arc. He was tall, with tan skin and white, slicked back hair. He was wearing a strange red jacket over what appeared to be black, form-fitting body armour and pants.

Assuming he just came back from a mission, she began to make her way past him, before taking note of what, or rather who's, God Arc he was standing in front of. It was Shirou's God Arcs, Unlimited Blade Works. They were still mostly shattered, but they were apparently going to be repaired when Shirou awoke. Despite being clearly broken, they were still somehow alive.

Without realizing, Saber had begun standing in front of the God Arcs, right next to the man. It was at this point that the man noticed Saber's presence.

"Oh, sorry. Is this your God Arc?"

Blinking from her focus being broken, Saber turned to the man, before frowning and answered,

"No. They belong to a friend of mine."

"A friend, huh? He must be a lucky guy, to have such a beautiful God Arc."

Saber looked at the man, slightly confused as to why he had such a cocky smirk, but ignored it, instead looking back to the blades.

"Beautiful, huh? Maybe they once were, but now they're just a shattered remnant of what they once were."

"Even so, there's still a beauty to the blades. Despite being so broken, they still live to fight by their wielder's side again."

Saber was confused at the man's views on the blades, but decided to put it on the backburner to instead be polite.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Saber. It's nice to meet you."

Putting out her hand, Saber said as such. The man seemed surprised, before shaking it off and taking her hand.

"Saber, huh? Nice to meet you. You can call me... Nameless."

"Nameless?"

"Yeah. Nameless. As long as you don't tell me your name, I won't tell you mine."

Letting go of her hand, the nameless man began to walk away, calling out a casual goodbye as he did. Saber was stunned. While no one believed her name was actually Saber, no one called her out on it either. It was strangely relieving having someone say that.

Shaking her head, Saber went to get Excalibur and begin the mission.

But he just wouldn't leave her mind.

***Page Break - Several hours later***

Once more arriving at her room on the Veteran Section, Saber stripped herself of her combat armour and put on her nightgown.

Climbing into her bed, she hugged her pillow again, and hoped for no nightmares to plague her rest.

***Page Break***

She was standing in a grassy meadow. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the birds were singing... It was perfect. She began to walk forward, feeling how her hair, no longer in a bun, blew through the air, along with her light blue dress.

Reaching a tree, she decided to sit down in the shade of it. Closing her eyes, she just felt the noises of nature flowing around and through her. That was then interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Opening her eyes, she saw someone familiar.

With short blonde hair and emerald green eyes, he stood taller than her in a royal blue sweater. With a smile, he said her name.

"Arturia."

Without warning, a sob wracked through her body.

"A-Arthur..."

Still smiling, Arthur walked towards her, and brought himself to his knees in front of her.

"Hey, Arturia."

With another sob, she reached out her arms for him.

"I-I'm... I'm so-sorry... Arthur..."

He then engulfed her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her head to his shoulder.

"Shh, shh. You have nothing to apologize for Arturia. None of what happened was your fault."

Gripping his shoulders, she choked out,

"B-But it is! If-If I were a b-better leader... Or if I w-were stronger... then nobody would have... then you would have...!"

Rubbing her back, Arthur lightly chuckled.

"It's fine Arturia. It wasn't your fault. I promise. Would I ever lie to you?"

Pulling back to look her in the eyes, Arthur then continued,

"I don't blame you. And neither does anyone else either. Trust me on that. To us... You were like our King."

In that moment, she felt as if it wasn't just the two of them. Looking up, she was barely able to see the silhouettes of her old teammates. An older man, with short purple hair and a lined face, a gentler looking man with white hair in a ponytail, a strong looking man with messy blonde hair, a young man with curly white hair, and a young woman with blonde hair in a spiky ponytail, all smiling at her.

"Thank you..."

With a small smile on her face, Arturia muttered that as she continued to cry, now tears of happiness rather than sadness.

"I promise..."

Jumping slightly, Saber looked to see where the voice was coming from, only to come up empty.

"I promise... You won't have to cry anymore. Saber."

With that the dream ended.

***Page Break***

Waking up, Saber slowly pulled herself up, before thinking on her dream. Reaching for her face she felt it was slightly damp, and promptly wiped her face. Getting out of her bed, she moved to her wardrobe.

She was about to put on her combat outfit, but hesitated and decided otherwise, instead grabbing the white blouse and blue skirt.

Now fully dressed, Saber left the room the same as it was, aside from a certain photo frame finally standing up properly.

As she walked, she decided she would have breakfast and then... who knows?

Maybe she'll visit Shirou.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee, and I have noticed that I have so much more (500 words more to be exact) to say for Saber than the other two. Probably because she's the one I've given the most background. Huh.**

**Thank you to gwojo for favouriting and following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****1555**


	23. The Sun

"You know Shirou... I am sorry. From the bottom of my heart. For Kiritsugu's actions. Even if what he did saved you... a child should never be cursed with this. As with Illyasviel too..."

In a chair, next to Shirou's bed in the Infirmary, was Paylor Sakaki, with his glasses off and an unusually sad look on his face.

"I just wish... if maybe he hadn't met her... No. Then only he would suffer. But, I suppose, when it comes to those with such an impossible ideal, tragedy is sure to follow..."

Saying this, he then looked to the sleeping youth in the bed, his once vibrant red hair tainted a stark white. Before he could continue to think on the what-ifs and could-have-beens, as dreamers like him are prone to, he was interrupted by the door opening.

Looking up he saw...

***Page Break - Around a minute ago, other side of the door***

Making his way out of the elevator and down the hallway, Archer thought on what he was going to say. It had been a month since Shirou was hospitalized, and things had gotten better.

Sakura was allowed to go around freely, but she still needed to stay within Fenrir for medical reasons. Apparently, some remaining effects of the Oracle Cells. Rin was still visiting Shirou and doing her job, finding a kind of balance in it all. Saber had begun visiting Shirou as well, and spent less time on missions, seeming to find a proper balance. Or she was close at least.

Illya, on the other hand, hadn't changed much. That was, in fact, the reason for Archer's visit. To make sure everything goes down right, he needs to talk to Illya, to build a connection.

But, he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. After all, it was the first time in a while he would have seen Shirou Emiya. What should he say? What should he do? Maybe he should just ignore him for Illya?

Before he could sink too deeply into wondering on what he should do, he arrived at the door. Rubbing his face, and sighing, he opened the door to the Infirmary.

Inside, instead of the snow angel he expected to see next to Shirou, he saw Sakaki with his glasses off. Pausing from the surprise, all Archer could do was stare in shock.

The silence stretched until Sakaki shook his head, put his glasses on, and stood up. Moving around the bed and towards the exit, he paused before saying,

"I don't know if you're there. But if you are, then please keep an eye on him. The path he is going down is likely one rife with personal tragedy. On that path, he needs a faithful companion. So please, if you can't stop him, then help him."

Seemingly done, Sakaki continued walking, until he went right out the door, never once glancing away from the doorway.

Archer stood against the wall, with a look of contemplation on his face, before turning back to Shirou. Moving over to him, he took the seat Sakaki had recently occupied.

"Keep an eye on him, huh? Hmph."

Archer then closed his eyes, deciding to wait for Illya to arrive. Unaware to him, his and Shirou's hands seemed to inch closer together.

***Page Break - Maybe an hour or two later***

Illya was fairly upset. Not only had she been taken away from her onii-chan while she was sleeping so she could sleep in a 'proper bed'. They also had the gall to keep her from him so she could have a 'proper breakfast'.The only good thing was that she was able to eat with Saber. But as soon as she was done, she made to leave, with Saber offering to escort her.

Now here they were, in the doorway of the Infirmary, only to see some big guy with white hair holding her onii-chan's hand. As Illya began to stamp her way inside, absolutely peeved at how her day has gone, Saber also walked in and, seeing the man on the bed, said,

"Nameless?"

With that, the man, who Illya could now see had tan skin, jumped, as if startled from sleep. Looking around, he saw Saber and smiled, before looking at Illya and letting a strange expression overcoming his face.

"What are you doing here Nameless? I was not aware that you knew Shirou."

Looking back to Saber, the man smiled again, before answering,

"Well... I know him through association, and figured I might as well visit the guy."

Looking back to Illya, his expression went back to the weird one from earlier, before he nodded and put out his hand towards her.

"Hello there Little Lady. What's your name?"

Slightly shocked, but still angry, she was able to cooly respond,

"Illyasviel von Einsbern. Who are you meant to be?"

Seemingly unaffected by her harsh words, he smirked lightly and said,

"You, Little Lady, may call me Nameless. A bit strange, but, if it works."

Confused at his cryptic name, and still put off by his actions, her anger had begun to fade, now just a flicker of what it was. As he let go of her hand, he stood and cast another look towards Shirou.

In that moment, Nameless' face had softened, and Illya felt as if she were looking at an altered photograph. Quickly looking to Shirou's face, then back, she had to question whether Nameless' expression was something she imagined, as his face returned to normal.

He then began to leave, saying goodbye to Saber on his way out. Looking out the door he left through, Illya then looked back to Shirou. After a pause, she took the seat Nameless had occupied.

It was warm.

***Page Break - The next day***

Archer was standing in an out-of-the-way hallway, looking down at his Armlets. They were both wrapped in bandages, with slight gaps letting anyone see the colour of the Armlets.

Reaching for the bandages, he slowly took them off, revealing the Armlets' true appearances. The one on his right wrist was composed of three metal bangles, all of them kept together by two bars of metal. On his left wrist was...

An Armlet, with a solid red appearance, only interrupted by a silver oval surrounded by a thick black lline.

Closing his eyes, he felt for the flow of Bias Factor constantly flowing through his body, and followed it out of his Armlets. From there, it reached for five different people.

Opening his eyes, he breathed out.

"Well then. Time for you to wake up, Shirou Emiya."

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, this chapter feels... meh. I didn't have much of an idea, and was very distracted for the first part of this. So I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter is lacking.**

**Second, I may have made a slight joke about the homoerotic tension visible between Archer and Shirou. It's already a joke, and quite a funny one at that, but don't worry. I don't ship that. Nor am I making a pass at homosexuals.**

**Third, Archer calling Illya Little Lady. It just works, cause it's also Oujou-sama, but more for children than teenagers or women. Also, Archer introducing himself to Illya as Nameless. Saber was in hearing range, and there's already a reason why he didn't introduce himself to her as such.**

**Thank you to Genesis09 for following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count:** **1100**


	24. Will Rise Again

"You know, you sure are causing everyone a lot of trouble."

"..."

"You better be ready for this. I don't want to have to drag you out kicking and screaming."

"..."

"Although, knowing you, you would jump at the chance to not bother anyone."

"..."

"Hah. This conversation isn't very palatable."

"..."

Putting his head in his hand, Archer sighed again. He was sitting in the chair next to Shirou's bed, dressed in his red coat and black armour.

It hadn't been long since he met Illya, a little over a week at most, and in that time Illya had changed. Not spending all of her time at Shirou's side, instead going around the Den occasionally with Saber, Sakura, or Rin.

To anyone else, the change in attitude these four made from when Shirou was first admitted was sudden and bizarre. To the girls, they seemed mostly unaware of it, but it's the person they all have in common that had an idea.

In fact, they were all heading to the commonality between them. Meeting up in the elevator, the four rode it to the Laboratory floor, all believing they were going to different places. When they all stopped in front of the Infirmary, this belief was shattered.

All of them casting sidelong glances at each other, they opened the door to see Archer sitting in a chair facing Shirou. At once, they all began to talk.

"Archer, why did you call us here?/Excuse me Archer, what do you need us for?/ Nameless, what do you require?/ Hey Nameless, why are we here?"

Looking to the others, the girls broke into two groups. Sakura and Rin, screaming Nameless, and Saber and Illya yelling Archer. All at once, they turned to Archer. Saber took point.

"Nameless. What is the meaning of this?"

Standing, and turning around, Archer looked at all of them with a stoic expression, arms crossed. But if one looked closely they would see sweat on his forehead.

"I have called you all here today... to talk on a special topic."

Unfolding his arms, he then gestured towards Shirou. The girls all looked dumbfounded, before voicing as much with varying utterings of Shirou's name or his nicknames.

Raising his other hand towards them to silence them, Archer continued to speak.

"I need your help. _He _needs your help. Please, listen."

Going silent, he looked at the girls, trying to gauge whether they would listen. They all looked hesitant, glancing at each other, before eventually nodding.

Letting his arms drop, Archer stopped looking tense and collapsed back into his chair, which he had turned around. With a sigh, he rubbed his neck before he began to speak.

"Good. That's good. Now where to begin?"

Putting his hand to his chin, Archer thought on it before deciding with a snap of his fingers.

"I know. What do you all know about Resonance?"

Surprised at the sudden question, the girls all looked to each other, before Rin stepped forward.

"Do you mean the Resonance Phenomena? When two God Eaters are capable of feeling what the other is feeling, experiencing their emotions, physical sensations, and even thoughts?"

"Essentially."

"Okay. What about it?"

"Have you ever heard of a Resonance being capable of bringing something that shouldn't be real, into the real world?"

"...What do you mean?"

"For example... Have you ever heard of someone that was able to bring a God Arc's personality into a material form in the material world through Resonance?"

Silence greeted his question. After all, who would possibly come up with such a ridiculous idea. Just as Rin was about to berate Archer for his clear stupidity, she was interrupted by someone speaking.

"Actually..."

It was Saber, looking doubtful in what she was saying.

"I did hear a rumour ten years ago about a God Eater that met a God Arc. The God Eater was apparently legendary, and he was hospitalized after fighting a Hannibal, which broke his God Arc. He tried to use someone else's God Arc, but didn't die. Then, he met that God Arc as a person."

"B-But that's ridiculous! Even if a God Arc is alive and has a life of its own, it can't become a person!"

Rin protested. It just didn't make sense. It should be impossible. Archer just shook his head.

"Whatever you think, it is possible. If you ask Sakaki about it, he could probably tell you. He seemed to be aware of me, despite how impossible that should be."

Illya seemed to pick up on the end of his sentence.

"Hey, Nameless. What do you mean by 'How impossible it should be'?"

Looking to her, Archer chuckled and answered,

"Well, it should be impossible for anyone not involved in the Resonance to see me."

At that, the girls all stared at him, both in shock and worry. Sakura, who had remained silent until now, moved forward and asked,

"Archer... Who are you? What are you?"

Smirking, Archer leaned back in his chair, crossing his left leg over his right and putting his arms against the arm-rests. He then answered,

"I am Shirou Emiya's partner and his closest companion. He calls me Unlimited Blade Works, though I am quite partial to the name Archer."

An even more shocked silence greeted his proper introduction. No one could say anything, just because of the impossibility of it all. However, it was Rin that regained her ability to speak first.

"Hold on. You said that a God Arc manifested after another God Eater touches that God Arc. But none of us touched Shirou's God Arc. In fact, Shirou touched Saber's God Arc. So shouldn't her God Arc be here?"

"Well, you make a good point. I'm not clear on the specifics, but I'm certain it has something to do with him touching Excalibur. Likely a backlash effect. The reason why you all can see me has to do with the connection built between you and Shirou. And the connection I formed between us as well."

"Connection? Actually before that, here's something. Resonance can only occur between New-Type God Eaters. I'm not sure about Saber, but I know that Illyasviel and Sakura aren't God Eaters. How can they see you?"

Breathing deeply, Archer gave Illya and Sakura serious looks, before answering.

"Well. The Little Lady here isn't entirely... human. She's half-human, half-Aragami. Albeit a man-made Humanoid Aragami. And Sakura... Well, the forced Oracle Cells probably left more damage than what was just visible."

Rin and Saber were shocked and looked to Illya and Sakura, only for them to look away, withdrawing slightly. Silence continued to reign, until Illya looked to Archer and spoke.

"So... Onii-chan. You said you needed our help. To wake Onii-chan up. What do we need to do?"

Looking back to Illya, Archer retook his casual pose, before abandoning it and just standing up.

"Right. Asking you about your knowledge of Resonance served another purpose beyond introducing myself. I need you all to know so we can wake him up. We need to make a Resonance occur."

Sakura took the bait.

"But... how?"

Shrugging, Archer gestured for the girls to come closer, and said,

"I'm not sure. We might as well use the tried-and-true method and touch him. Well, come on, gather round. Hold his hands."

The girls moved forward, all of them with a slight blush, except for Illya who bounded ahead and jumped right onto Shirou's left hand. Next was Sakura, who moved slightly faster than the other two and took hold of his right hand, blushing a little harder, but also looking content.

Next were Rin and Saber, who went to share Shirou's right and left hand respectively. When all four were holding his hands, they then looked to Archer, who slowly moved to the end of the bed and put his hands on Saber's and Sakura's shoulders.

"Now I have to focus on the flow of Bias Factor and Oracle throughout all of us, and try and connect it to Shirou. It would help if you all closed your eyes and focused on steady breathing."

Closing his eyes, Archer focused on the flow of his Bias Factor. From his heart, to his lungs, to the Armlets on his wrists. Then from the Armlets to the shoulders of Saber and Sakura. Then they flowed further, from their arms to their hearts to their wrists and into Shirou's own Armlets.

Before he could continue further through Shirou, he connected to Rin and Illya. Up their arms, to their hearts. Having made the connection, Archer went back to Shirou, and trailed up his arms, until they reached his heart and finally his brain.

"Are you all ready? We're going to begin the Resonance."

Hearing a resounding yes, Archer took a deep breath and dived into Shirou's brain. More specifically, the world within. Finding what he needed, he then flooded the pathways connecting all of them with the sensations, emotions, and thoughts.

They were then in a plain of unlimited blades.

***Page Break***

_They opened their eyes to see a desert plain, littered with blades of all kinds. Some were normal swords, and some were Blade God Arcs. All of them were held in the sand below them, the handles aiming skyward._

_In the blue sky were colossal gears, shining with the light of ideals and turning like a well-oiled machine. But in the distance, on the horizon of what should be an infinite plain, the world seemed to distort. Instead of__ golden-grey sand, there was merely white. Where once swords stood tall, there were now undefined masses of metal._

_The sky above had turned black, and the gears had stopped moving, seeming to dissolve by the second, until there was nothing left in the sky._

_"Damn. This is awful. It really is consuming him."_

_The girls, rooted in place by the events before them, all swivelled over to see Archer, now without Armlets. Rin asked the first question._

_"Archer! W-Where is this!?"_

_"This is Shirou Emiya. His world. The manifestation of his own self."_

_Next, Sakura asked, horrified yet also morbidly-fascinated with what was happening on the horizon,_

_"What's happening...?"_

_"His world is breaking down. Being consumed by his own Oracle Cells. Killing him."_

_Saber was next, yelling,_

_"Killing him!? What do you mean Archer!?"_

_"I mean what I said. He's being consumed by his Oracle Cells. If he stays down long enough, he'll eventually be consumed by them entirely."_

_Last but not least, Illya was looking at the world strangely, before asking,_

_"Where is he? Where's Onii-chan?"_

_At this, Archer paused, before turning around and pointing upwards._

_"He's up there."_

_He was pointing at a large hill, unpeppered by swords, except for the very top, which had both swords and a figure slumped against them._

_"Shall we go?"_

_Saying that, Archer began to make his trek up the hill. After a few seconds, the girls followed, except for Illya, who gave the horizon another pointed look, before following the others._

_As they walked up, Archer began to think. They got this far, but how are they actually going to wake Shirou up? He had no clue, and just hoped that the four girls would be able to figure it out._

_Reaching the top of the hill, Archer looked down to see Shirou's sleeping figure, lying against his God Arcs, Unlimited Blade Works. No. Lying against him. Seating himself on the opposite side of the blades, Archer leant backwards, and could almost feel Shirou lying against him through the blades._

_As the others reached the top of the hill, they all moved to get a good glimpse of Shirou and gasped in horror. His entire left arm, as well as the left side of his neck, face, and head, had blades growing out of it._

_It was horrifying, not only in image but also in how tranquil Shirou appeared, as if he was a corpse. Uncovering her mouth from the surge of sickness she felt, Rin asked, failing to hide the tremble in her voice,_

_"W-What's w-wrong with him?"_

_"It's the Oracle Cell Erosion. In Shirou's mind, it takes form on his body as blades piercing him from within. Physically, it messes with his skin and hair colour. Eye colour too."_

_Before anyone could say anything more about the horrifying sight before them, Illya asked, more successful than Rin in hiding how queasy she felt,_

_"What do you want, Onii-chan? How are we supposed to help O-Onii-chan?"_

_Sighing at Illya's straightforward question, Archer shook his head, before honestly answering,_

_"I don't know. I just know you can all do something."_

_"And what makes you say that? What makes us so special?"_

_"First, the fact that you can all see me is pretty important. Second, is that I could make a connection with you. Meaning that all of you are, in some way, compatible with Shirou."_

_Ignoring the slight blushes that suddenly appeared on their faces, he continued._

_"Third, the visible effect you're all having on his world."_

_"Visible effect?"_

_Without looking, Archer pointed downwards, near their feet and where they walked up the hill. They were all shocked to see grass growing in their path, and even around them, seemingly growing from beneath the sand._

_"What's--"_

_Before Rin could ask the question, Archer interrupted her with the answer._

_"Shirou isn't well. The Oracle Cell Erosion is eating away at his body and his mind, making him malleable. Malleable from what should be steadfast ideals. However, as he's known you all, his ideals have come into question._

_He wants to save everyone. To an unhealthy degree. It's practically the only thing that keeps him sane, the only thing keeping him upright under the weight of his past. But meeting you all has shown him something. In some situations, he was forced whether to choose between everyone's happiness over your own, or your happiness over everyone else's. But he could never come to a decision._

_Here and now, you have the power to change Shirou Emiya.You can keep him as he is, almost certainly on a path to ruin. Or you can change him, make him value his own life at the cost of himself._

_Either way, it's your choice. As long as you can wake him up, that's all that matters."_

_Saying that, Archer then closed his eyes, seeming asleep. __From there, the girls all looked at each other and begun planning, discussing what they could do and how it would affect Shirou._

_The conversation must have gone on for hours. Constant back-and-forths, morals and judgements, a lot of things came up and were discussed. Eventually they decided on a solution._

***Page Break***

_Sakura and Illya made their way over to Shirou, while Saber and Rin left the hill. During their conversations, Illya mentioned that she was once able to heal Shirou with her Oracle Cells, in a process similar to Resonance. It was also discovered, accidentally, that using the Oracle Energy from the pseudo-God Arcs around were able to cause grass to grow._

_The plan that was devised went as such. Illya would heal Shirou's 'body', trying to remove or push the swords back into Shirou, with Sakura assisting. At the same time, Saber and Rin were heading over to the eroded horizon. Saber was going to use a pseudo-Excalibur that she had found nearby, as a way to create a wider radius of healing. Rin would go around grabbing individual blades, and stepping on the spots Saber missed._

_Finally, Archer was kneeling near the edge of the hill, also aiding Saber with the eroded horizon. In his hands were himself in Bow form, the Nameless bow. He would aim for the gears in the sky._

_They were going to save Shirou, and they were going to eradicate the erosion to do it._

***Page Break***

_It felt, again, as if hours had passed, but in this world of blades, time is static. Dropping onto his ass, Archer sighed with relief._

_"Finally done..."_

_The horizon of the eternal plain before him had now changed. No longer a field of white, it was now reminiscent of a grassy plain. The swords and gears that had been distorted had become refurbished, shining under the yet again blue sky._

_Looking behind him, he saw Sakura and Illya also sitting down near a no longer impaled Shirou. Where the blades once were, there was now tan skin and white hair, the same as Archer's own._

_When Saber and Rin eventually arrived, they dropped the Excalibur they were carrying, which landed in the ground blade-first, before also taking a seat on the hill._

_Heavy breathing was coming from everyone. Not just from the removal of the erosion, but also the toll of being in a Resonance for this long. Clearing his throat, Archer decided to ask,_

_"Are you sure this is all you want to do?"_

_He then gestured to the horizon of green, before gesturing to the rest of the unlimited plain, still a desert full of blades._

_"If he stays like this, there's no guarantee he'll live happily. All your effort has done is just make him more hesitant when it comes to a situation where your lives are on the line."_

_Silence greeted him, before..._

_"No. This is fine. This is Senpai. Even if it's selfish of me, even if it will hurt him, I don't want Senpai to change!"_

_A shocked silence permeated, as none of them had heard her this emotional in the short time they knew her. Then, the other girls also started to add their agreements. Seeing this, Archer sighed._

_"Hey Archer... you said that the physical characteristics of the erosion is his skin and hair changing colour, right?"_

_Rin seemed to ask that out of the blue. Archer nodded, before Rin continued,_

_"If that's the case, then how come Shirou still looks like this?"_

_A worried silence was the result. With a more resigned sigh, Archer answered._

_"You were able to destroy the worst of the erosion's influence. But the erosion is still there, deep down. It's caused by an overabundance of Oracle Cells, so you all just whittled down the number. But the effect is still there. Not only that, this can happen again. And the next time will kill him."_

_Another shocked silence, before Illya took the initiative, asking,_

_"So now what?"_

_Archer looked at her and shrugged, before pointing to Shirou saying,_

_"I'm not sure. Just wake him up, I suppose."_

_Slightly irritated by his lack of useful information, Illya made her way over before lightly shaking Shirou's arm._

_"Onii-chan... wake up."_

_Waiting, and seeing no visible effect, she was about to leave before..._

_"Senpai, please wake up."_

_Sakura had grabbed Shirou's hand and squeezed._

_"Oi, Emiya. If you don't wake up, your kouhai and imouto will be sad. And if you make them any sadder, I'll Gandr you to death."_

_Rin was shaking Shirou's shoulders._

_"Shirou, you should wake up. Should this go on any longer, me and the others may have to resort to drastic measures."_

_Saber wasn't touching Shirou, but her message was clear. She would beat him up if need be._

_Archer was watching this all go on with bemusement, before sarcastically suggesting,_

_"Maybe you should kiss him. Isn't a kiss how you wake up a sleeping princess? Or prince, in this case?"_

_All of the girls blushed slightly, before Illya, being the fastest and most shameless, pecked Shirou's cheek, saying,_

_"There."_

_While that did make most of the girls blush, they were now less hesitant than before. Ignoring how fairy tales normally went, they decided not to kiss Shirou's lips._

_Saber took Shirou's hand and kissed it, like a noble meeting a high lady. Rin followed suit, more out of a desire to not be super embarrassed than out of a lack of desire. It was Sakura that took the most time, looking from Shirou's face to his hands to his neck, and everything._

_Eventually, she just decided to go for it, and leapt for Shirou's face. Taking his face in her hands, she said, quite loudly in fact,_

_"Senpai! I love you!"_

_Before going in for a proper kiss. It was short and sweet, and felt like an eternity for Sakura, now glowing a crimson red, before..._

_"Nngh. Mmm. Hah. Huh? Sakura?"_

_Opening his eyes, Shirou spoke. The others present were all stunned at Sakura's actions, before they all cheered in celebration, except for just Archer, who was smiling._

_"We did it!"_

_They were all excited, until they all felt a sudden wave of drowsiness. They all then collapsed, with Shirou catching most of them._

_"Hey! What's happening!?"_

_Shirou cried out in concern._

_"Do not worry, Shirou Emiya. They are merely waking up."_

_Archer answered his concerns calmly. Shirou quickly looked to him, before looking back to the collapsed girls. A sudden glow appeared around them, becoming blinding. Then, they were gone._

_And it was just the two of them left._

***Page Break***

_They were both sitting side-by-side, looking out over the endless plain. Their backs were against Kanshou and Bakuya, the God Arc parts. It was silent, until Archer finally asked,_

_"So... Do you finally understand now, Shirou Emiya?"_

_"About the danger of my power? Or about you?"_

_"Both."_

_Taking a breath, Shirou answered,_

_"I understand that using the abilities with my God Arcs, my Burst Arts, are able to forcefully increase the amount of Oracle Cells produced. And I understand that that can kill me."_

_With another breath, Shirou continued._

_"And I think I understand what you are. Or who you are. You're... my oldest partner. The part of me that has been in this world longer than even my own consciousness. You're... Unlimited Blade Works, aren't you?"_

_Silence, before Archer chuckled, answering,_

_"You are correct. Although, I would prefer it if you called me specifically Archer. It just rolls off the tongue, ya know?"_

_"Archer, huh? Not bad."_

_They both then chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. Then again, Shirou Emiya has always been an absurd person._

_"Hey, Archer?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Turning to face each other, Archer saw the steel determination in his eyes, now heterochromatic. His right eye was golden, while his left was a steely grey._

_"Please. Stay by my side as my partner. Help me save people and slay Aragami, no matter what. It may be selfish of me but... Please."_

_Looking into his eyes, Archer saw no hesitation, just a pure desire to fulfill his dream. Sighing, Archer said,_

_"You know, if you continue down this road with those ideals, they'll kill you, right?"_

_"I know."_

_"That's Hell, you're walking into."_

_"This is the only path."_

_Looking into Shirou's eyes once again, only to see no hesitation, he answered,_

_"Fine. I was going to stick by you anyway." Saying that, he ran his hand through his hair, pushing it out of its previous position. Then, everything began to glow for Shirou._

_Shirou, looked to Archer, only to be shocked by a face that was similar to his own. He couldn't tell earlier, but with his hair down, Archer looked like an older Shirou._

_Smiling, Archer said,_

_"Goodbye, Shirou Emiya."_

***Page Break***

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a blinding white. Looking around, he was then able to see that he was surrounded by four figures.

One with blonde hair in a bun, one with long purple hair, one with black hair in twin-tails, and one with long white hair. They were all looking at him in concern. Smiling, Shirou said,

"I'm home."

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. Thus is Cee and, ****that was a longer than usual chapter. Comparable in size to Chapter 19.** **Maybe I save all my energy for finishing up an Arc. Anyways, thus was the 'Burst' Arc. In reference to the Burst arc from the released Gods Eater Burst for the PSP, where, spoilers, Lindow's God Arc becomes a person after the protagonist tries to use it. This could also be called the Unlimited Blade Works arc, but eh.**

**Second, ****Resonance. It only really comes up as a plot point in God Eater 1, and only with God Arcs in the Burst arc. Although, I think the new God Eater 3 update has something to do with Resonance. So I kinda made stuff up as I went.**

**Third, I bullshitted my way through the second half of this, because I forgot what my original solution was. Now here we are.**

**Fourth, the titles from ****Chapter 20 to now were all meant to be connected by an ellipse. However, FanFiction doesn't allow certain symbols in titles, like periods, semi-colons, or slashes.**

**Thank you to Bartogromeo for favouriting.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3946**


	25. Tsunderes and 'Old Men'

**Note: Chapter 15 to 24 started for no reason, and in my mind confuses the timeline. So to make it straight: 15 to 24** **is set long before 14 and this chapter. They were flashback chapters I started for no reason beyond, Let's Make Plot. But now we're in the present. Thank you.**

***Page Break***

The hustle and bustle of the Outer Ghetto was soothing to Shirou, as he wandered about. He was given the task of shopping for Rin's birthday. It was February 1st, a few days after the mission he and Saber went on.

Don't misunderstand. Shirou was only getting his gift for Rin, and some alcohol, even if he is against it. The reason why Shirou was only getting a gift for her two days before her birthday was because he had gotten so sucked into his side projects in the Engineering room.

Sakura, who seemed to have gotten closer to Rin in the almost 2 years they've known each other, asked Shirou about what he got her, leading to him shutting down.

After rebooting, Sakura gave him one of her scary glares that she had only discovered from Illya, before forcing him out of the Engineering room and into the Outer Ghetto, telling him not to come back until he bought a good gift.

Here Shirou was, in the shopping district on a bench, head in his hands. He must have made a pitiful but dangerous figure with his two-tone hair and skin, causing people to avoid him. The Armlet didn't help matters either.

Shirou was wallowing in his thoughts, until...

"Well. Hello there boy. Why do you look so glum?"

Jumping slightly, Shirou looked upward to see who addressed him. It was possibly the strangest person he had ever seen. Standing tall, taller than him, but covered in a large, billowy, black cloak, was a man. What stood out about him, however, was the mask on his face, reminiscent of a skull. All in all, a super sketchy guy.

"Um..."

Noticing his hesitation, the strange man brought his left hand to the back of his head.

"Ah, sorry...I guess I'm not the most friendly looking feller, huh?"

The man had a slight accent, Shirou noted, but not one he could discern. Shaking his head, he responds,

"No, no, it's fine. I was just thinking about something."

Nodding his head, the man looked at Shirou with a piercing glint in his eyes. Or, Shirou figured he did since he couldn't see his eyes. Then, the man said,

"You're... looking for something. Something for someone special. Am I right?"

Shirou looked at the man shocked, amazed he could get that just from looking at him.

"I figured as much. Your mumbling on a birthday gift was quite helpful in guessing."

Hearing that, Shirou then deflated a little. Looking to the man, he asked,

"So, why did you ask Mister?"

"Hmm. What if I told you, I knew a good store in town that sold all sorts of odds and ends. Would you be willing to come visit?"

Blinking at the sudden proposal, Shirou put his hand to his chin and thought about it, before nodding.

"Alright, I'll come with you. My name is Shirou by the way. What's yours?"

Tilting his head, the man chuckled slightly before saying,

"My name, huh? Well, you can call me... Hassan."

***Page Break - A few minutes later***

They had made their way to the edges of the Outer Ghetto, against the walls of the Far East Branch Headquarters. It was between the North and West entrances, in an out of the way alley.

Stopping before it, Shirou looked at the building. It was a dark wood, and beared a lot in common with his own traditional Japanese house. There was a sign on the top, but it was a little worn and hard to read. Catching onto Shirou's difficulty reading the sign, Hassan cleared his throat and stretched out his left hand.

"Welcome to our store, 'Old Man of the Mountain'. I hope you are satisfied with your purchases."

Saying that, he then walked up to the door and slid it open. Shirou followed after, and was wowed by what he saw. It was a rather large room, with rows of racks full of random odds and ends, both from the past and the present. At the end of the room was a counter with someone on the other side, likely a store clerk.

"Hey, Heisei! I have a customer!"

The person he was talking to was a young girl, with purple hair in a sharp bob cut and dark brown, almost grey, skin. She too was wearing a skull mask.

"Hey, Ude. Didn't the King tell you not to go out and grab random people to visit our shop?"

Chuckling, Hassan responded,

"Yeah, but... I couldn't just leave this guy there. He needs something special for someone's birthday, and had no idea what to do."

Sighing, the girl, Heisei, looked to Shirou. Shirou, who was stunned at seeing someone else with the same fashion sense as Hassan, snapped back into reality and moved towards her.

Reaching the counter, he was then able to see that the girl, on top of having a similar mask, was also wearing a cloak, albeit a lighter one. Looking to her again, he said,

"My name is Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Surprised at the courtesy, the girl didn't answer for a second before snapping back to reality and responding.

"M-My name is... You can just call me Hassan, okay?"

For some reason, she stuttered slightly, but this was second on Shirou's mind.

"Wait. You're Hassan... but he's also Hassan?"

Shirou was very confused. The two Hassans looked at each other, before aah-ing. It was the male Hassan that answered his unasked question.

"Ah, right. All of us that work here at 'Old Man of the Mountain' go by Hassan. We also all wear these masks. It's a part of our... style. Since calling each other Hassan would get confusing, we call each other a nickname. I'm Ude. She's Heisei."

Shirou gave Hassan, or rather Ude, a strange look, before clearing his throat, saying,

"Alright. Anyways, I was told I might be able to find a birthday present here. Can you help me or..."

The other Hassan, Heisei, looked to Shirou, before nodding.

"Alright, alright. What can you tell me about this person? Their personality rather than their appearance, although a favourite colour might be helpful."

Nodding, Shirou grabbed his chin and closed his eyes, organizing his thoughts.

"Alright. She's smart. A genius, really. To most people she acts perfect, never wrong and able to handle any situation. To her friends though, she acts a bit different. She's bold and prideful. Quick to outsmart anyone that tries to show her up. She also loves teasing people. To an almost unhealthy degree. She also has a greedy side to her.

But beyond that, she's kind. Maybe a bit cold and inexperienced when it comes to talking from the heart, but she still cares, even if she acts like she doesn't."

Done with his describing, Shirou looked towards Heisei, only for her to look... surprised? It's hard to tell with the mask. Ude also looked pretty bewildered. The slightly awkward silence was broken by Heisei coughing into her fist.

"W-Well then. Sounds like you and her are... really good friends."

To this, Shirou smiled.

"Right? I'd say so."

Blanking at Shirou's response, Heisei just looked at him silently before continuing.

"... Anyways. She sounds like the kind of person that would appreciate something slightly expensive, but from the heart. How does she feel about gems?"

"Um... I'm pretty sure she likes them. When she isn't shooting her Gandr shots, she's shooting bullets that look like gemstones."

"... What do you two do for a living?"

"Oh, we're God Eaters."

"... Should've guessed that. Anyways, would you mind telling me her favourite colour?"

"Ah. Um... I'm pretty sure it's red. Maybe a vermillion."

Hearing that, Heisei nodded, before moving out from behind the counter and into one of the racks near the entrance to the store. Digging her hands through it, she looked for something she felt would work for Shirou, before seeing a faint glimmer.

Reaching in, she chased after the glimmer. She was able to grab it and pulled it out, able to see it in all its glory. A vermillion red gem, already finely cut into a vaguely triangular shape. Moving over, she then gave it to Shirou.

"There. This is probably the best gift you could give her."

"Um. Alright. How much does this cost?"

"... Normally, it would be way more expensive, but I'll give it to you for 1500 Fenrir Credits. On the condition that you make 'Old Man of the Mountain' your usual shopping place."

"A-Alright."

While Shirou seemed agreeable on the outside, internally he was screaming. 1500 Credits was basically everything he had at the moment, made worse by the fact that he isn't going on many missions. But... Rin would like it, and that makes it worth it. So, swallowing his sadness, he swiped his card and paid the required number of credits.

"Well, see you later, Ude, Heisei."

"Goodbye, Shirou./Later, Shirou."

Exiting the store, Shirou looked to the sky, clutching the vermillion gem in his fist.

Now all he has to do is turn the gem into a gift.

***Page Break - 30 minutes to an hour later***

Shirou had entered the Den and was immediately greeted by Sakura, looking less angry but still ready to destroy him with her wrath.

When asked what he got, he showed her the gem. She looked surprised, as if the high quality present wasn't something Shirou would ever get. She then asked where the alcohol was. Shirou laughed nervously, saying he spent all his money on the gift. Sakura was not amused.

Shirou then told her he had to go, as the gift wasn't finished yet. Saying his goodbyes, Shirou left, not seeing the slight grimace of jealousy that appeared on Sakura's face.

Now here Shirou was, sitting on the floor of his workshop in the Engineering room, tinkering with some small pieces of metal. His goal was to create a chain.

It didn't take him long.

***Page Break - The next day***

Shirou had finished forging the chains, carving the symbols, and grafting everything together. Now all he had to do was get a gift wrapper.

Wanting advice, he went to ask Sakura on her opinion. She gave a straightforward answer.

"Well, Senpai. I think it would be best if you put it in a box. A small one, maybe black with a bowtie."

After thanking her for her advice, Shirou left for the Outer Ghetto. While he didn't think the chances were high, he did promise to go shopping at 'Old Man of the Mountain'.

After a few minutes of walking and trying to remember directions, Shirou eventually arrived at the store. Opening the store, he began to open his mouth to sound out a greeting, only to stop surprised when, instead of seeing Heisei behind the counter, he saw someone else.

She was also a girl, with the same mask, cloak, hair colour, and skin tone, if a bit on the greyer side, as Heisei. But she was also clearly older, shown by her greater height and more... developed assets. Her hair was longer too, kept in a long ponytail.

Clearing his throat, he tried introducing himself again.

"H-Hello, Miss. My name is Shirou Emiya, nice to meet you. What's your name? Or nickname?"

The woman, who only briefly looked at Shirou's surprised face, looked back again as he greeted her.

"I'm Hassan. You clearly know the others, so you can call me Hyaku. What do you need?"

Surprised at her rather straight forward personality compared to her co-workers, Shirou took a moment before answering,

"I'm not sure if you do but, do you have any gift boxes? Preferably small black ones with ribbons?"

The woman, Hyaku, sighed before standing and moving around the counter, going for a rack immediately next to the counter's entrance. Pulling out what appeared to be small blocks, but Shirou realized were gift boxes, she eventually located a black one near the bottom.

Pulling it out, she brought it over to him.

"Do you mind the red ribbon?"

"Nope. If anything, that makes it better."

"Alright then. That'll be 20 credits."

After paying and saying goodbye to Hyaku, Shirou left for the Den, happy he got what he needed.

Looks like everything was coming together.

***Page Break - Next Day***

It was Rin's birthday. Lots of people were sent to play interference on Rin. Rin herself was sent on an errand, but seemed to have some inkling of what was to occur.

When everything was set up, everyone took their positions, ready for the surprise. Rin walked in through the door to the Den and,

"Surprise!!!"

A cry rebounded from the hearts of most of the God Eaters in the branch. Rin was like an idol to the members of the Far East Branch. Especially the younger ones.

As the day carried on into the night, more and more people fell asleep, whether from the energy of the party or because of the last-second booze that needed to be ordered because Shirou didn't buy any.

Of the ones still awake, Saber, Sakura, Illya, and Kota had given her gifts. Saber got her a hairbrush, saying a lady needs to take care of their hair. Sakura gave her a cookbook, saying they should practice sometime. Illya, who was connected to an IV and in a wheelchair, had given her a pretty good drawing of all four of them and Archer. Kota had given her a scarf, saying it would, 'Go well with a jacket if you weren't wearing your sweater'. It was alright.

But finally, it was just Shirou and Ron on their lonesome. Saber and Sakura were entertaining Illya, so the two could talk alone. Rin began.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, huh?"

The sky was black, illuminated by the whole moon hanging in the sky. As breathtaking as it was lonely.

"Yeah."

The two went silent, not sure what to talk about, or if they even should. Just as the silence started becoming awkward, Shirou snapped his fingers and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black box.

"Here, Tohsaka. It's your present."

Rin gave Shirou an odd look then chuckled, plucking the box from his hand.

"I'm sure it won't be that grea...t..."

Inside of the black box with a beautiful red ribbon, there was a vermillion red gemstone, triangular in shape. Atop it was a metal clamp, with a tiny cross engraved onto it. From there, it connected to a clip where there was a chain looped through.

Taking another look at it, Rin made a mental connection. Shirou got me a necklace for my birthday. Looking at him, she could see his slightly nervous smile.

"Well, do you like it?"

For a moment, Rin found it oddly hard to speak. Overcoming the strange barrier, she said,

"I... Shirou... How did you get this?"

Looking at her, Shirou smirked in a way that was painfully similar to Archer's own, before nonchalantly saying,

"Why, I made it myself. Well, mostly. I bought the gem. But I made the necklace parts and put everything together."

"You... You really did?"

"Yup."

Rin was shocked. For the first time since childhood, she was given a present made from the heart. Sure, Illya drew her a picture, and Saber and Sakura just wanted to be good friends. But this was Shirou. And Shirou was dear to her. Dare she say it, she might even lo--

No. Now's not the time for that.

"T-Thank you... Shirou."

"You're welcome... Rin."

Hearing him call her that set her heart aflutter. It was few and far between the times he ever said her proper name. They were silent, comfortably now, for a few minutes until Shirou asked,

"Well, are you going to put it on?"

Rin, now feeling more in control, nodded to him and slipped the necklace around her neck. Positioning it so it was comfortable, she then looked at Shirou and asked,

"Well? How does it look?"

"Beautiful..."

It was softly-spoken, almost silent in the night, but Rin could hear it. It would've been fine had he said that whilst looking at the pendant. But he said that while looking at her.

Embarrassed, they both turned away, faces red. But they felt content.

Today was a pretty good day afterall.

***Page Break***

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, I'm sorry to any FGO players for probably butchering the Hassans. I've never watched or played HF, nor have I rolled Hassan of the Serenity/Cursed Arm, so I got no personality experience. I watched Zero, but that didn't give much personality depth to Hassan if the Hundred Faces, who has a hundred personalities.**

**Second, the names of the Hassans. Cursed Arm is called Ude, which is Japanese for arm. Serenity is called Heisei, Japanese for serenity. Hundred Faces is called Hyaku, Japanese for hundred.** **The King Hassan is called King. King is King for King.**

**Third, just think of Rin's gift as the necklace she gives to Shirou in normal Fate/Stay Night.**

**Thank you to nullstudent and VermillionFox for following, and thank you to sawtooth44 again and ReinaLee1 for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 2800**


	26. Fish and Dogs

The Den's kitchen was filled with the sound of chopping and sizzling. Wafting from it was a wonderful scent, cooking fish, onion, and various spices.

The first to enter the Den's dining room, drawn by an almost supernatural sense of smell, was Saber. Quickly following her was Taiga, also gifted with an unnatural sense of smell.

Peeking into the kitchen, they were able to see Shirou and Sakura at work, whipping up a dish for dinner. Nodding, they left for the table, fighting against the desire to see what they were going to eat.

They had already been punished by Shirou enough with less food whenever they got too curious. But they couldn't help wondering.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura, can you pass me the mirin?"

"Okay, Senpai."

Saying such, Sakura moved from the frying pan over to the counter right next to her, before grabbing and handing the mirin to Shirou.

Thanking her, Shirou then lightly drizzled the mirin on the salmon, before putting it aside to marinate. He then began to chop up more carrots and onions.

The two were making 'Salmon and Mushroom Cooked in Foil'. Shirou happened to get a good (read: not as expensive as usual) deal on salmon, and had some vegetables left over from the last material distribution, so he decided on this.

The reason they were juggling cooking one pair of salmon and prepping another was because of the high amount of staff at the Den. While most of them have homes they go to, and some of the God Eaters prefer something simple, everyone else normally comes for dinner. So they need a lot.

"Senpai, the salmon are done."

"Good, because I just finished setting up the next two."

* * *

The two were setting up plates, being assisted by the people currently in the dining hall, which has grown from just Saber and Taiga.

"Ah. The best part of staying in the Den is eating Shirou's cooking..."

Kota was there, along with his own teammates.

"I agree! Sir Shirou is an excellent cook, greater than even that of a king! Truly, we are blessed by his presence!"

That was Emil von Strasbourg, long time member of the 1st Unit, and looking to be Kota's successor. He had short blonde hair with a long, curly fringe, blue eyes, and was wearing a purple suit.

"Calm down Emil! Geez. His cooking's good, but you don't have to oversell it!"

That was Erina der Vogelweid, ex-member of the 1st Unit that joined Cradle, and is apparently the captain of a 14th Unit. Or she's at least on the fast-track to that position. She had neck-length grey hair with a white beret, blue eyes, and had a white coat over a blue top.

"How could you say such a thing!? Saying Sir Shirou's food is lesser than that of a king is an insult worthy of divine intervention!"

The two should have been setting the table, but they were instead 'arguing' over the quality of Shirou's food. Or, Emil was arguing and Erina just wanted him to stop talking.

"Um, guys?"

Kota, as their captain, tried to get the two to stop arguing. He was a little out of practice, as Erina had been spending a lot of time around the world on Cradle missions, meaning it was like the first time he had to break up an argument between the two.

As the amusing display continued, Hibari, now off the clock, came over to break up the argument for Kota. Laying her hands on both of their shoulders, she smiled menacingly and said,

"Now, now. If you two continue to be so loud, then Shirou will probably lessen your shares."

The two paused in their arguing to listen, before going pale and quietly apologizing for their volume. In the midst of all this, Shirou and Sakura went back to and left the kitchen bearing plates of something wrapped in foil.

At once, everyone moved to their seats and went silent. Shirou and Sakura walked around, handing off one of the foil-wrapped pieces of food to everyone, and two to Saber.

When everyone had at least one, Shirou and Sakura took their seats before they, and everyone else, clapped their hands together and said,

"Thank you for the food."

Saying that, Shirou and Sakura peeled open the foil to reveal the salmon within. Everyone else followed suit, before taking a fork and eating a piece of it. There was a universal pause, where they all thanked their lucky stars or personal deities for letting them eat this food, before dinner properly went underway.

While everyone was enjoying it, Shirou was criticizing his meal, thinking he should have maybe cooked it for a little longer, and more accurately balance the spices.

Everyone was having their own conversations, but then Shirou was drawn into a conversation by Sakura, who had a wondering expression on her face.

"Hey, Senpai... Is it just me, or does it feel like someone's missing?"

"Missing? How so, Sakura?"

"Mmm. I'm not sure. It just feels like... someone that likes fish isn't here to have some."

Tilting his head, Shirou knit his eyebrows in thought.

"Hmm. Fish... Fish... Fish...ing? Who likes fishing? Hmm."

"I don't know why, but I also think of dogs. Isn't it normally cats that like fish?"

"Dogs? A dog that likes fish... Wait," with a look of horror, Shirou continues his thought, "You don't mean Lancer, do you!?"

Nodding, Sakura responded,

"Ah, that's right! Lancer! Don't you think he'd love to eat this?"

With a sigh, Shirou answered,

"Yeah, probably. Along with some alcohol and some girls. And a good fight."

"Oh, that's right. You and Lancer don't get along very well, do you?"

Saying that Shirou and Lander didn't get along was an underexaggeration. It's not necessarily because of anything they found wrong with the other, but just something about them turns them both competitive. Especially when it comes to fighting.

Kind of like Rin and Luvia, now that Shirou thinks about it.

Reminded of the guy, Shirou couldn't help but think back to the first time they had met.

* * *

It was maybe two or three months after Shirou waking up from his coma, in around May or June. The first month was spent making sure Shirou was actually okay from his coma and using someone else's God Arc. That didn't last long. The rest of that month and the next was spent fixing Unlimited Blade Works and syncing it to Shirou.

After that, Shirou was sent on missions less often, normally with a full team to assist him. While their coddling annoyed him, he was also glad they were worried about him. Made him feel wanted.

His school studies had slightly suffered from his coma, but some tutoring from Taiga helped him reach a reasonable level of knowledge. It was reintegrating that was hard, especially with Shinji being... gone. But Sakura gave him a hand, as did his old club president and the president of the student council, other friends of his.

But it was in the month after all of that, where he was given a strange request from Sakaki.

"Excuse me Shirou. Do you think you could help a new transferee acclimate to the Den? He should be arriving in around an hour."

Agreeing to help, because that's what Shirou does, he made his way to the Den's entrance, determined to wait for the transferee. In the interim, he helped Hibari out with organizing some paperwork and sharing some conversations with God Eaters that were passing through.

After an hour had passed, he looked around, wondering where the transferee was. Was he running late? That was Shirou's initial assumption. After five minutes, he became worried that maybe he was in the wrong place. Was he supposed to be on the roof with the helipad?

After ten minutes, he began to believe that was the case. So he stood up, ready to move to the elevator to ask Sakaki when, suddenly...

"Yo! Are you Shirou Emiya?"

Jumping, Shirou whipped around to see who had snuck up on him, only to see someone completely unfamiliar. He was taller than Shirou, but an average height, with long blue, spiky hair kept in a ponytail, and crimson red eyes.

He was wearing a white t-shirt underneath a black jacket with rolled sleeves, and black jeans, but also carried a strange presence about him. Contrary to Saber's noble air, and Archer's mysterious one, he seemed to have an air of... danger.

What stood out to Shirou was the Armlet on his right wrist. It was the same as Saber's and Shirou's own.

"Hey~ You in there?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Shirou looked to the man and apologized.

"Ah, sorry. Just thinking about something. I am Shirou Emiya. Since you knew my name, does that mean you're the transferee?"

Grinning, and oh did his teeth look sharp, the man chuckled.

"Yup. That's me. You can call me Lancer, alright kid?"

Seeing Shirou scowl slightly, the man, Lancer, chuckled again, before walking past him and saying,

"Now then! Where's the bar, kid? I think it's time for some fun!"

Shirou turned and quickly followed him, looking annoyed but still telling him all about where everything was.

Unfortunately for Shirou, this would only be the beginning of the pain in the ass known as Lancer.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, nothing much to say. That beginning was a reference to the SoL Fate anime, popularly known as Fate/Stay in the Kitchen. Fun fact, both Archer's and Lancer's clothes were a reference to what they wear in that anime. Good times.**

**Second, Shirou and Lancer don't get along well. From what I've seen in the anime and games, the only beef either gas with each other us that Lancer killed Shirou and Shirou didn't die. Aside from that, they're cool. But Archer and Lancer don't like each other, are passive-aggressively antagonistic to each other.**

**If it wasn't obvious, and if you didn't forget, which I wouldn't blame you for, Shirou has been, slowly, integrating Archer's personality into his own. Does Shirou seem like the type of person that would smirk?**

**So, if Shirou is channeling Archer, then wouldn't the bits of Archer Lancer dislikes appear in Shirou? And wouldn't Shirou have the bits of Archer that make him dislike Lancer? It's not meant to be meta stuff, just an excuse for when I eventually fail at trying to display friction.**

**Third, I discovered the Page Break button. Tell me if it works.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 1559**


	27. Wow, Lancer's Really Do Use Lances

"Ah~ Now that hits the spot! You really should try some, kid."

"I told you, I'm underage."

The two now found themselves in the Lounge, Lancer drinking like a fish and Shirou forced by his own will to bear witness to the almost amazing sight. Almost.

"Man, Lancer. You are one heavy drinker. Makes me think of myself a few years back. Now that I think about it, I have an important question to ask. When you first meet a woman, where is the first place your eyes rest?"

Accompanying them was Haruomi, longtime captain of the 4th Unit and passing acquaintance of Shirou. Passing because Shirou tries to avoid womanizers. He had short, green hair with long, spiky bangs, and was wearing a black leather jacket and red leather pants.

"Hm? Well... her hands."

Haruomi looked confused and slightly disturbed.

"Her hands? Why?"

"To see if she has any calluses. Any fighter would have calluses somewhere. And I love me a fighter. After that it would be... her ass."

At that, Haruomi seemed to have a heart attack. With one hand to his chest and the other hand against the bar to balance him, he said,

"A-Ass!? So close, yet so far! I thought I had found a comrade! But I was instead betrayed!"

Picking his ear with his pinky, Lancer asked,

"If you're so broken up about it, then tell me what's the first thing you look at."

Suddenly, Haruomi pushed himself up from the bar, clenching his fist.

"Why of course, it is the thighs! That absolute zone between knee-sock and skirt! The exposed flesh of their legs! Truly, there is nothing greater! Right, Shirou!?"

Jumping, Shirou turned to Haruomi in confusion, only barely able to stutter out a what, before Haruomi continued.

"I have seen the way you have looked at the thighs of some of your friends. That Rin girl, she is the perfect example. Am I wrong?"

Blushing, Shirou looked away.

"W-Well, no, you're not. B-But the thigh isn't all that matters! It's about the whole image, not just one part!"

Shirou, saying that, suddenly felt a chill down his spine and looked over, only to see Haruomi and Lancer smirking at him.

"Oh? A romantic, are ya kid? You certainly don't look the type with your weird skin and hair."

"Oh, how innocent. Makes me think of my brother when I was younger. Ah, those were the good days."

The blush Shirou had then grew in intensity, prompting him to say,

"Shut up, idiots!"

He then looked away and pouted while the two chuckled at him and got back to their drinking.

* * *

Lancer must have been drinking for an hour with Haruomi, yet somehow didn't even look drunk. Haruomi was out of it, possibly bordering on death, and had to be escorted out, while Lancer was pulled out by Shirou.

Shirou was insistent that they should at least visit the rest of the Den before anything else. He was annoyed at how unresponsive Lancer was to the idea, and had to drag the guy out before he finally decided to walk on his own. Lancer was annoyed at how much of a stick in the mud Shirou was.

From there, the tension only grew. As they went around, Shirou was growing more irritated at Lancer's lack of cooperation, and Lancer was getting annoyed at Shirou's overall pushiness.

By the time they arrived at Sakaki's office, they were almost at each other's throats. Sakaki was actually quite shocked at the tension between the two. Lancer was an unknown, but Shirou definitely wasn't the type to be aggressive.

"Hey Professor. I showed this guy around, so I'll be leaving now."

Saying that, Shirou turned and stiffly moved towards the door. Standing Sakaki called out,

"Ah, wait, Shirou!"

Shirou stopped and turned around, giving him a questioning look.

"I was actually going to tell you about another request I had. Would you mind going on a mission with Lancer tomorrow?"

Shirou looked at Sakaki, before turning his head, thinking on whether he should or not. He would immediately say yes, if not for the fact that Lancer irritated him so much. Sighing, he turned back to Sakaki, saying,

"Yeah, fine. What will we be fighting, Professor?"

"That's good. You two will be fighting against two Vajras in the City of Mercy. Will that be a problem?"

"Hah. No, it'll be fine."

"I don't see any problem with it. But first, there's something I gotta say."

Turning to Shirou, Lancer pointed at him and said,

"You've been annoying me since the moment we met kid. So, I challenge you to a contest. Whoever does the most damage to those Vajra win."

Raising a brow, Shirou asked,

"And what do you get if you win?"

Grinning, Lancer responded,

"The winner gets to make one absolute order of the loser. How does that sound?"

Closing his eyes, Shirou thought on it, before nodding his head and opening his eyes.

"Alright. That sounds good. But don't complain when I destroy you."

"Heh. I guess you got some spunk after all, kid."

With that, Shirou left, psyching himself up for the mission tomorrow and thinking up an embarrassing punishment for Lancer.

* * *

The next day, Shirou exited the elevator into the Den, walking towards Hibari. Descending the staircase, he saw Hibari behind her desk, and Lancer standing there, talking her up.

Shirou couldn't continue, both surprised at how Lancer was blatantly hitting on Hibari, and at Lancer's combat outfit. At least, that's what he assumes it's supposed to be.

He was wearing a skin-tight blue bodysuit, with silver highlights detailing his muscles, and some pauldrons made of steel too. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

As Hibari turned down Lancer and his advances, she turned and happened to see Shirou.

"Oh, Shirou. Are you here for your mission with Lancer?"

Hearing Shirou's name, Lancer turned to where Shirou was standing, only to have his expression go blank.

"What... are you wearing?"

"Oi, why are you saying it as if I'm the one wearing something completely insane?"

As opposed to the casual clothes that Shirou wore when he went on missions before the Zouken incident, he was now wearing black, sleeveless body-armour with white lines defining his muscles, black pants with pouches for items, black boots, and a red waist cape, similar to the latter half of Archer's own coat.

It was actually requisitioned for him by Rin and Saber, who wanted him to have some 'decent' bodily protection while suiting him. So they decided on something close to Archer's outfit.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my outfit! It has nothing unnecessary, letting me manoeuvre however I need. Unlike your... what is that, a skirt?"

"Hey, it's not a skirt, it's a folded cloak! It lets me hide any surprises from enemies, and provides my legs some protection! At least it doesn't make me look like some weird kind of male str--"

"Okay, okay. You two need to calm down, otherwise you get no mission."

Hibari had gotten in the way of the two's squabbling, and with her threat on the table, the two went silent.

"Good. Now, your mission is all ready. Please get your God Arcs and head out of the Den to the jeep waiting for you. Stay safe."

The two, still silent, made their way into the God Arc Bay, hoping that Hibari wouldn't be able to hear them in there. Entering, they made their way for their respective God Arcs. Lancer didn't have to walk far, stopping almost immediately after entering, while Shirou went to the usual place.

Grabbing his God Arcs, Shirou gave the blades another look, still held up by the subtle changes to them. It was merely the shape of the blades, ending less in a curved point and more a straight one, and the patterns on each blade being slightly different. They were small, but it felt like they made a world of difference.

Looking over to Lancer, Shirou tried to look at his God Arc. Seeing it made his breath stop. It was a Charge Spear God Arc, possessing a blood red tinge from the handle all the way to the blade. The only part of it that wasn't red was the black Aragami core.

Unlike most Charge Spears, it had a flat blade, useful for slash attacks as well as pierce. It was named Gae Bolg, also different to the original Gae Bolg God Arc. But the thing that stood out the most about it was the pure feeling of danger Shirou sensed from it.

"Hey, kid. You alright?"

Lancer's voice snapped Shirou out of his analysis, letting him breathe again. Looking to him, Shirou saw that Lancer was looking at him quizzically.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Just... admiring your spear, that's all."

Tilting his head, Lancer then looked up to Gae Bolg.

"My spear, huh? Yeah, it is pretty nice. It's especially good at shedding blood. Your blades, on the other hand...," and here he looked to Shirou's blades, "Your blades don't seem like they were made for such bloodshed. Ah well, a sword's a sword, and it will shed blood, no matter what."

Shirou blinked. He never thought Lancer could be so... eloquent on the subject of blades. Shaking his head, he turned to the Den's exit, calling over his shoulder,

"Whatever you say. Let's just get this over with, alright?"

After all, they had a contest to complete.

* * *

**Crackle**.

"Okay, Shirou, Lancer, are you both ready for the operation?"

"Yup./Yeah!"

"You'll be fighting against two Vajras today, who will be appearing in Points K and L. Will you both be fine fighting them one-on-one?"

"Yeah! And you better keep watch Hibari, so you can tell this kid how hard I beat him."

"Hmph. Tough words. I'll make sure you eat them whole."

The two were standing on the little cliff where Shirou normally begins his operations. They were facing each other, each looking confident and smirking at the other.

"Alright you two, calm it down. I don't need you getting each other killed because of your carelessness."

"Hah. Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Yeah, I guess I got kind of carried away, huh?"

The two then looked at each other before stretching out their hands for a handshake. The underlying message being, I trust you, but I'll still kick your ass.

"Okay you two, the operation is about to begin. Get ready."

Grabbing their God Arcs, the two moved for the edge of the cliff.

"I'll go for K, alright kid?"

"Then I'll go for L."

"The operation has begun. Good luck."

Smiling, the two jumped off, calling out their battle-cries.

"I won't lose! Trace On!"

"This better be a good damn fight!"

* * *

After landing, the two immediately went their separate ways, Shirou going left and Lancer going right. The left path led to a dirt clearing that split into another two paths that loop around.

Point L was the uppermost path, which was the 'entrance' to a warehouse. The Vajra was just coming out of the hole in the ceiling, meaning it wasn't even remotely expecting Shirou's sudden assault.

As it jumped down, Shirou threw Bakuya straight into the Vajra's neck, causing the entire Aragami to jerk to the right. This led to it landing wrongly and falling onto its right side.

Shirou quickly followed that up with Kanshou, jamming it right underneath the wound inflicted by Bakuya, before he quickly ripped them both out at once, leaving a giant gash on the side of its neck.

With his blades in hand, Shirou dashed to face the Vajra's face, and from there began to combo on the enemy. A horizontal with Kanshou, a downward vertical with Bakuya, then a thrust from Kanshou.

Pulling back his blade, Shirou tried for another combo, crossing his blades to deliver a cross-slash, before pulling both of his blades together in two opposite horizontal strikes, then finishing it by bringing both of his blades down on the Vajra's head. He then jumped back as he heard the sound of a bond breaking.

The Vajra had, meanwhile, been trying to stand up, but couldn't because of the constant pressure on it. But when Shirou jumped back after finishing his combo, the Vajra used its waning strength to force itself upward in a leap.

As it began its descent, Shirou took Bakuya in a back-handed grip before leaping upwards to meet the Vajra. Just before they collided, he began to spin, enough to make a full rotation, and slice into the Vajra's outstretched paw.

Slicing through it, Shirou was then in place next to the Vajra's neck, where he impaled his blades, before pulling and pushing upwards and downwards, trying to rip apart its neck.

The Vajra cried out in agony at the action, before it hit the floor, now on its left side instead of its right. With two more powerful slashes, Shirou finished off the Vajra. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shirou quickly devoured the Aragami for materials, before leaving the warehouse.

Shirou wondered on Lancer's own progress, before hearing a loud noise, similar to an Aragami's cry and someone... laughing. Looking up towards the direction of the noise, Shirou then saw...

A Vajra being flung over the roof of the church.

"What."

Following it was Lancer, jumping onto the church's roof, yelling,

"Hey, kid! Watch this!"

As the Vajra fell lower and lower, closer to the dirt clearing, Lancer took up a strange pose. With his legs spread in an upside-down v, bending over and putting his left palm on the floor, while he held his God Arc aloft in his right hand, he looked ridiculous.

But from him, Shirou felt something. It was the same something he felt when they first met, and when he saw his God Arc. It's... bloodlust. He vaguely remembered the Oracle-infused Matou family giving off a similar feeling.

As the Vajra finally hit the floor, Lancer took off in a sprint, before jumping at the lip of the roof, leaving him at an almost 20 degree angle from the Vajra. Then, he threw his God Arc, intoning,

"Gae Bolg!"

It began to glow a crimson red, as did Lancer's Armlet, before it struck the Vajra, resulting in a massive explosion, big enough to engulf the Vajra. A cloud of dust was dislodged from it, but when it cleared, all that was left was the Vajra, now with a sizable hole in its side, and Gae Bolg, sticking out of the ground proudly.

Lander walked up to it, and picked it up, grinning.

"How was that, kid?"

"It was... alright. I've seen better."

"Heh. Sure you have. Well, come on. Let's go back to base so Hibari can tell us which one did better."

"Fine."

As they were walking back, however...

**Rumble**.

Stopping, Lancer turned to Shirou, asking,

"Did you hear that?"

Shirou nodded.

**Rumble**.

"There it was again."

The two had begun turning, trying to see where the noise was coming from.

**Crackle**.

"Oh no! How did this happen!?"

"Hibari? What's wrong?"

"You two have to get out of there! You've been surrounded by multiple small Aragami!"

"How many?"

"Ten, twenty, thirty... It just keeps growing! You two seriously need to go!"

At this point, the two were now standing back to back with God Arcs in hand.

"Hey, kid."

"Yeah?"

"What if, instead of deciding a winner based on who defeated the Vajra better, we decide it on who killed the most Aragami?"

"Hmm. Deal."

**Rumble**, **Crack**!

At that, some Ogretails had begun to force their way out of the ground.

"Good. 'Cause there's no way I'm gonna lose!"

Saying that, Lancer threw himself into combat.

"Hey, that's my line!"

Shirou then followed suit.

* * *

"Actually..."

Snapping out of his reminiscing, Shirou looked over to Sakura. She looked as though she were thinking on something, then nodded her head.

"It's better if he's not here, right? Then you won't do stupid things."

Then she looked at Shirou with a glare oddly reminiscent of the look Oracle Sakura gave him. That is, a terrifying one.

"Y-Yeah! And I'll only do stupid things with him around! D-Definitely!"

Shirou then hurried back to his meal, only hearing unsettling chuckling from Sakura, and resolved to avoid that blue Lancer at all costs.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, ****this stuff has recently been a decent length for some reason. Hope you guys are enjoying it. I honestly don't know.**

**Second, Haru and Lancer. Haru poses the old question from GE2 because how else do you make friends? Also, I personally feel Lancer's an ass-guy and Shirou's a thigh-guy.**

**Third, not sure if it's clear, but when a character says, Hah, that's me vocalizing a sigh without writing sigh in asterisks.**

**Fourth, Shirou's combat outfit. Just imagine the Shirou from Oath Under Snow in Archer form, but without the headband and the red sleeve on his left arm.**

**Thank you to lDavel for favouriting and following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 2625**


	28. The Snow Fairy's Past and Future

Shirou was sitting next to Illya's bed, holding her hand as she slept. He had been telling her more stories about Kiritsugu, specifically the time he almost burnt down the house trying to make an omelette.

While it was one of the earlier memories Shirou had, he wanted to first tell Illya about what type of father Kiritsugu was, through his memories. One who would keep you company, who wouldn't treat you like you were lesser, who would worry for your safety, who would want you to enjoy your life.

Whenever Shirou spoke of his memories, he always had a fond expression on his face, which Illya soaked into her memories, along with the time Shirou spent with her father. Their father.

With one little squeeze of her delicate hand, Shirou stood up and made his way out of her 'room'. When the door clunked shut behind him, he turned to see Sakaki in his seat with Saber opposite him. They were both turned towards him, and he scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"Hehe... Am I interrupting something?"

The two continued to look at him, before looking to each other and sighing. It was Sakaki that started.

"Shirou... Why don't you take a seat before we begin?"

Shirou tilted his head in confusion, before grabbing one of the chairs against the wall and dragging it over. Plopping down in the seat, he gave an expectant look to Sakaki.

"Hah... Shirou, how is Illya?"

"She's... fine. She's asleep. I was sharing some stories of Kiritsugu."

Shirou looked between the two, before taking a serious expression and asking,

"Professor, what were you two talking about?"

"... It was... about Illya... Tell me Shirou, do you know Illya's origins?"

"Yeah. She told me about it when I woke up after fighting that Sariel, two years ago."

"Would you mind telling us what she told you? Just to make sure."

"I mean... alright."

Taking a deep breath, Shirou began to recount the conversation that took place in the Infirmary two years ago. Or at least, to the best of his ability.

* * *

"My name is Illyasviel von Einsbern. But you can call me Illya, Onii-chan."

Blinking, Shirou looked at her confused before scratching his cheek with his right hand.

"Did we wake you up? Sorry."

Illya smiled at how he seemed genuinely sorry, before straightening up and looking at him seriously.

"I will answer any questions you ask. But...," looking to Kota, she continued, "Only if it's just the two of us."

Shirou looked perplexed, while Kota looked fairly calm about it. As Shirou was preparing to pull together a case as to why Kota should be allowed to stay, Kota waved him off.

"It's fine, Shirou. You're the one who really saved her, so makes sense she would trust you," turning, he began to leave the Infirmary, tossing out, "But you're the one that'll fill out her entry in the database."

As the door shut, Shirou reached out his arm, before pulling back and looking to Illya, who had kept her serious expression, although her lips were slightly upraised. Sighing, Shirou thought on what questions he wanted to ask, before beginning.

"I guess, first... What were you doing in that building all alone? I think you mentioned a 'them'? Tell me about it."

Taking a deep breath, Illya composed herself before answering.

"I... I was running away. From my... 'family'." and when she said the word family, she made an absolutely disgusted expression.

"Family? Like your mom and dad? The Einsberns?"

Wincing, Illya answered,

"Close. My captors were the rest of my 'family'. My grandfather at the head of it. My mom is dead, and my dad... according to my grandfather, had abandoned me. They were all Einsberns, except for my dad, who kept his family name."

Shirou looked at her sadly, before stroking her head.

"That's... I'm sorry. Do you still want to continue?"

With an almost inaudible sniff, Illya shook her head.

"No... I'll be fine."

"Well, alright then. You told me who you were running away from, but I'd like to know why. Could you tell me?"

"It's simple. To him, I was nothing more than a tool. Only kept alive to further their experiments. The 'training' they gave me was nothing more than experiments to further my 'potential'. So I ran away."

Gulping, Shirou asked,

"What... What type of experiments?"

"Oh, you know... Injections, surgery, forced Oracle Cell activation, that kind of thing."

Illya had looked away as she talked about her 'training'. But she was able to hear the sound of something creaking. Turning back to Shirou, she saw him clenching his jaw and gripping the the headrest of the bed, crushing it.

"Those... bastards! How could they do something like that... to their own family!?"

His eyes had changed shade slightly, now darker, but not steel grey. Illya reached out to assure him.

"It's fine, Onii-chan. It's over. I'm here now, and I'm safe. Right?"

Taking in a deep breath, Shirou focused on Illya's hand on his shoulder and let go of the headrest. His anger subsided, and his eyes returned to their normal gold.

"Yeah. You're safe. I promised to protect you, remember?"

She smiled at him and nodded, causing him to lightly smile as well. Then, he retook his serious expression.

"Sorry, but I'd like to ask a little more. Are you fine with that?"

Seeing her nod, he took another breath and compiled his thoughts, before continuing the line of questioning.

"Do you know why? Why they would do that to you? Why they would even have you born, if all they were going to do was make you suffer?"

"I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm pretty sure the old man mentioned at some points something about regaining the family glory? I didn't really listen. He was really boring."

Shirou looked at her blankly. Where was the crying, broken child, or even the silent, serious one, of a moment ago? All that was there was an energetic girl that had no time for lengthy monologuing. Truly baffling.

"But as for why they let me be born... My mom and dad had fallen in love. While dad was an outsider that was hired by the Einsberns, my mother was another experiment, a man-made being."

"A man-made being? What?"

"Have you ever heard of a Humanoid Aragami? It's the idea that Aragami, a constantly evolving species, will eventually become like man. My mom was one of their experiments into this idea, taking Oracle Cells to try and create an artificial Humanoid Aragami. And then she and dad fell in love."

"That's... Just who _are _the Einsberns?"

"From the history lessons I _did _listen to, apparently the Einsberns are an unknown benefactor for Fenrir, and one of the biggest too. Their conditions for continued patronage was privacy, and any interesting research they have on Oracle Cells and Aragami."

"Unknown benefactors? What is this, a book?"

Illya began to pat Shirou's shoulder, saying "there, there" and projecting a feeling of smug superiority. Sighing, Shirou gave Illya another blank look, before asking another question.

"So, if your mother was an artificial Humanoid Aragami, and your father was a normal guy, then that makes you half-human, half-Oracle, right?"

"I suppose. But I'm more Oracle than human because of the experiments. And my dad wasn't any normal guy. He was a God Eater. A strong one, apparently."

"This might be a bit personal, but... what were their names?"

Illya's face went from cheerful to slightly sad. Talking about her parents seems to bring her down.

"My mom was named Irisviel. Daddy used to call her Iri. Daddy's name was Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu Emiya."

Hearing that, Shirou went stiff. He looked at Illya in bewilderment. There's no way she's talking about his Dad. Stuttering, he asked to make sure,

"W-What did he look like? Did he have spiky black hair, and tired black eyes? And some stubble on his chin?"

Illya looked at him in surprise.

"Y-Yeah. How did you know that? Have you met him before?"

Shirou was breathing heavily, looking almost terrified at the truth he was stumbling upon. But he needed to make sure. No matter how clear it looked, this would make or break it.

"D-Did he... Did he ever talk about his dream?"

"Um... Oh! I remember I was up late, later than I was allowed, and I was looking for Mommy. So I went to her's and Daddy's room. When I went there, I heard them talking about something. I couldn't understand most of it, but they sounded sad. Then Daddy mentioned something about his dream, and being a hero. A Hero of something. A Hero of..."

"Justice. His dream was to become a Hero of Justice. To one day save people."

Illya looked at him in surprise and confusion, clearly wondering how he knew that.

"How... Just who are you, Onii-chan?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Shirou answered.

"I... I'm Shirou. Shirou Emiya. Adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya. The boy that inherited his dream. Nice to meet you, my sister."

Shirou tried to slightly smile, but couldn't help how his face crumpled with guilt when he saw Illya's shocked expression begin to form tears. He reached out to comfort her, but drew back when he saw her face.

For Illya, she was breaking down. The boy that saved her claimed that his father was Kiritsugu. Her father. But he's probably younger than her. In that case, where did Kiritsugu go? Why didn't he come for her? Did he like Shirou more than her? All she could speak out, however, was,

"Why?"

"Illya?"

Suddenly, Illya had regained her tongue and couldn't prevent what she said.

"Why? Why!? Why you!? Why did he stay with you, instead of coming back to get me!? Why did he raise you, and leave me to suffer!? Why!?"

Shirou couldn't react. Seeing this girl like this, in this broken state, hurt. But because of him?

It was like being torn apart over, and over, and over, but it never gets better. Like abandoning all those people in the fire.

"I'm sorry..."

All he could do was say that. How could he possibly repent for this innocent sin? What could he do as an eternal punishment? Seeing this girl cry felt like enough, but he knew he deserved more.

So all he did, all he could do, was wrap his arms around Illya and apologize over and over.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Illya was still shattered, but was together enough to feel some regret for what she said to Shirou, and to return the hug. With so much less energy than she had, she muttered again,

"Why...?"

Hearing that, Shirou interrupted his stream of constant apologies to stutter out,

"K-Kiritsugu was sick. D-Dying. It affected him, e-ever since the day he saved me. S-Sometimes, he would go out for w-weeks at a time. When I a-asked, he said he was looking for something. Something i-important."

Getting that out, he continued apologizing. All the while, Illya looked at him with an unknown emotion in her eyes, as the gears in her mind worked to answer her questions. This continued on until they both fell asleep.

* * *

"And... that's it."

Sakaki and Saber were looking at him in surprise. They never expected seeing another's suffering would break him so... much. They had seen him comfort the grieving, but they had never seen him talk to someone suffering because of him.

It was intriguing, but Sakaki quickly brought the conversation back to its roots.

"Right. That's basically what we knew. But, I'd like to focus on her unique make-up."

"You mean, how she's half-human, half-Oracle?"

"Yes. As you know, a year ago, she collapsed and became bed-ridden. It was because of her make-up that that happened. The Oracle Cells within her had begun eating away at the human cells. Or at least, they had eaten away at them to the point that she was forced to become bedridden."

Shirou nodded, not liking the grim look on Sakaki's and Saber's faces.

"And?"

"Well... the medical tests we have received... They say that her Oracle Cells have been consuming her human ones at a steady rate. By next year, they would have completely consumed her human cells. And when that happens..."

Taking a deep breath filled with dread, Shirou asked,

"And when that happens?"

"She'll... die."

At that, everything seemed to stop. Shirou's perception of time fizzled into nothing. She'll die? She, the person he promised would be safe and that he would protect her, would die? If that's the case, then he would've failed to make true on his promise. He wouldn't be able to save her. But how can he save her from her own biology? The one constant in her life.

"No... No, that can't be... There has to be some way... There has to be something I can do... right? Right, Professor Sakaki?"

Sakaki just sadly shook his head, not being able to look at Shirou. Saber just hung her head. Shirou stood up in anger.

"Come on! There has to be a way! She can't die just yet! There's still so much for her to do! Like see the ocean! Or fall in love! I won't stand for her just dying like this! And I know that Berserker wouldn't either!"

Despite saying that, he still knew deep down he couldn't truly do anything. He wasn't a miracle worker. The best he could do would be to give her his blood, but that would probably cause more problems than it will solve.

Gritting his teeth, Shirou turned on his heel, leaving Sakaki's Lab. Neither of the other occupants rose to stop him. As he slammed the door behind him, he made his way for his room.

The next minute passed by in a blur, until he was on his bed, in his room. He cursed and cursed, before eventually succumbing to sleep.

That night, he dreamt of the little snow fairy, and her onyx protector.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee And, sorry I'm late. Yesterday, I was too distracted to write much, and what I did write, sucked. It was meant to be the aftermath of Shirou and Lancer fighting against that horse. I made a small summary at the end of last chapter instead. So now we have this. Better now than never, right? My God, I have made the timeline all over the damn place...**

**Second, ****I lied. More backstory paralleling Fate/Stay Night's plot! Hooray!**

**Third, yes, that's a Persona 2 reference.**

**Fourth, I gotta eat my words. I said, in another AN, that Resonance isn't used as an actual plot point in any of the games aside from 1. I proved myself wrong by playing 3's 2.0 update. Shit's crazy, but Resonance is important again. In fact, shit pertains to basically Reality Marbles. Sure wish I played it before writing all that stuff.**

**Fifth, more a continuation if the previous point. Anyone that played 3's update would've seen what's happening to Ein at the end of the plot. It's basically what I'm making happen to Illya. But I'll probably finish this before we get the whole story.**

**Thank you to trgtboyz for favouriting.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****2325**


	29. Onyx Protector's Enraged Introduction

The day the snow angel met her onyx protector, it had been maybe a week since Lancer returned back to his Fenrir Branch in Ireland. In the month Lancer had been, he and Shirou had gotten into more arguments and contests, albeit over more mundane things than Aragami kill-counts.

After all, neither wanted to face Hibari's wrath again. So they instead focused on arm wrestles, racing, and contests of luck. Although Shirou lost most of these contests, they both still considered the other equal. It was only in contests of luck where they stood even, but that's only because they both had poor luck.

But Lancer would sometimes tell Shirou he had great luck, normally after he had a conversation with or bowled over one of his female friends. Weird.

Anyways, it was after he was gone, in the month of July, that Berserker first appeared. Shirou had gone to Hibari to ask for a mission, and wasn't disappointed. She had one extra mission that no one had taken yet. It involved exterminating a Gboro-Gboro and an Ukonvasara in the Wailing Plains.

The enemies in the mission weren't overly difficult. Shirou had defeated a few Gboro-Gboros, and knows that he needs to watch for its water attacks and enraged charging. Ukonvasaras were a bit new, but he had fought some while Lancer was at the Branch. He needed to watch for their charge attacks as well, but the electric attacks are less of a concern.

If anything, it was the field Shirou had a problem with. The Wailing Plains. Something about it made Shirou think of the fire. Even though it was an empty plain with a typhoon in the centre, instead of an entire city full of people on fire, they still felt the same. The one time Shirou had a mission, he had the feeling a great tragedy took place there. On a more devastating scale than the City of Mercy.

He had grabbed his God Arcs, adjusted his outfit, and went to the roof to board the helicopter that would take him to the Plains. On the ride, he was contemplating how he would battle the Aragami. How to counteract their speed with his own, and knowing where to attack. Using it as a distraction from his concerns about the Wailing Plains.

When the helicopter eventually reached the Plains, Shirou opened the door and jumped out, landing on the cliff above the crater. It was almost as empty as the actual Plains, if not for the broken buildings all around.

**Crackle**.

"Alright Shirou. Your targets for today are a Gboro-Gboro and an Ukonvasara. It's expected that they should have a 5 minute-interval between their appearances, with the Gboro-Gboro appearing first at Point G. Got that?"

"Yes, Hibari."

"Good. The operation will be starting any moment now. Get out there. And stay safe."

"Got it!"

Turning to the combat area, he jumped off the cliff, calling out,

"Trace On!"

* * *

Shirou took a right as he landed, pushing himself off of the stone in a sprint. When he eventually rounded the corner and saw the Gboro-Gboro, he halted his momentum, falling into a crouch.

On one knee, he watched the Gboro-Gboro as it wandered around slightly. Turning left and right searching for any decent meal, before continuing its feasting at the gathering point.

Bringing his God Arcs together into Bow form, he took aim. From the angle he had, he could only attack the Gboro-Gboro's back. Luckily, that allowed him a direct line of sight to the Gboro-Gboro's Dorsal Fin, which is what allows it to use its range attacks. Somewhat.

Pulling on the Oracle string of his bow, he closed his eyes, emptied his mind, visualized his goal, then made it a reality. When he opened his eyes, he saw three Oracle arrows lodged in the Gboro-Gboro's Dorsal Fin, which then exploded and broke the bond in the Dorsal Fin. This caused the Aragami to be stunned, lying limp on its stomach.

Standing from his crouch, he unattached his God Arcs as he sprinted at the Gboro-Gboro. When he reached it, he started by impaling Kanshou hilt deep into the Gboro-Gboro's tail, pinning it to the floor. Then, he made to the Aragami's face and began slashing back and forth with Bakuya.

Downward, then up and to the right, then to the left, bringing it all the way around in a spin, before impaling it right into the Gboro-Gboro's tongue, straight through and into its jaw. With that, the Aragami's Jaw bond had also broke, and the Gboro-Gboro screamed out in pain at the torture it was suffering. Pulling together its last vestiges of energy, it pooled its Oracle into what remains of its Dorsal Fin, forcing it all out in a radius of high-pressure water.

Shirou, seeing the Gboro-Gboro raise its head, which was the common tell that it would use an area-wide attack, jumped away from the Gboro-Gboro and pulled both of his God Arcs back to him.

The Gboro-Gboro's vision was filled with water, as it felt relieved at the small false-Aragami no longer being inside of it, and at the predator hunting it had disappeared. The last thing it saw was the torrent of water being parted by three neon-green flashes of light, and the predator hunting it on one knee, looking it straight in the eye. Then its vision, and perception of itself, was wiped out by a neon-green explosion.

Sighing, Shirou stood and unattached his God Arcs, returning them to Blade form, before trying to connect to Hibari.

**Crackle**.

"Hey, Hibari. I got the Gboro-Gboro. How long until the Ukonvasara appears?"

As he spoke, he devoured the Gboro-Gboro's core, feeling the satisfaction flood in from his God Arcs.

"Well, that took you around 3 minutes, so you should only have to wait another tw-- Wait, what!?"

"What? Hibari, what is it!?"

"This can't be right! The Ukonvasara is coming in your direction, fast! Too fast! It's just about to--"

Shirou's head snapped upwards as he heard a loud cry from above, which was followed by the shapes of an Ukonvasara and something else flying down towards him. Shirou would have dodged, but he was transfixed by what he could soon make out.

It was... a giant... man? And he was holding the Ukonvasara by the throat and was slamming it with a giant... God Arc? Then the man-thing let go of the Ukonvasara's throat and punched it away, causing it to fly to Point E, near the cliff that lead to the rapids below. Now it was just the giant coming towards him, and was he crazy or was the giant looking straight at him as if he was the giant's target?

Nope, he was definitely the target. Turning, Shirou began to sprint away from the giant before it landed on him. He was already a few tens of metres away when the giant landed. Then, the giant released a deep, terrifying roar that stopped Shirou in his place.

Shaking slightly, Shirou turned to look at the man-thing, burning his appearance into his eyes. A giant of a man, almost as tall as the Oracle Shinji, with lead grey skin and long, black, ragged hair. He was wearing a leather skirt, similar to the ones Shirou had read about in books about Spartan heroes, and had a leather bangle on his left wrist, and an Armlet on his right wrist.

The Armlet was the same as Saber's and Lancer's, and had a chain wrapped around it. The God Arc he held was a Buster Blade. It was jagged, chipped, and looked all-around worn. Like Shirou's own Bow, it was Nameless, not based on any legend or power. Just a tool, representative of the wielder. From the Armlet, blood red lines spread to the God Arc, and all over the man's body. It centered on his heart, and caused his eyes to glow the same shade of red.

In a breath, Shirou realized. He's suffering from Oracle Cell Erosion. Just like me. But he's gone... berserk. Shirou's realization was interrupted by the man roaring again and lunging straight for him, somehow traversing the massive distance between him in a moment. The man brought his God Arc down on him, and Shirou just dodged, the blade missing him by a few inches and colliding with the ground, causing it to shatter.

Immediately, the sword was brought back up, and forced back down. This time, Shirou brought up his blades to block, only to be almost crushed underneath the force of his blow. Reacting instinctively, Shirou pushed the blade to the side, forcing its weight off of him.

Shirou immediately attempted to gain distance, bringing his hand up to his earpiece to contact Hibari.

**Crackle**.

"Shirou! What's the situ--"

"Hibari, I need backup! An insane God Eater is attacking me, and I don't think I can last long!"

"Wait, Shi--"

Taking his hand off the earpiece, Shirou's attention was once again stolen by the man that rushed at him. He swung down his blade, and Shirou narrowly dodged, before bringing his God Arcs down on his arms, only for his God Arcs to bounce off.

This caused Shirou to become stunned, which the man took advantage of, punching Shirou in the gut and sending him flying. Shirou hit the wall near where he originally entered the area, before flopping to the floor and coughing out some blood.

Pulling himself up to his knees, Shirou looked on to see the hulking giant before him, practically exuding an aura of madness. Slowly, he then made his way onto both of his feet, looking unsteady and weak.

I can't beat him. I can't beat him. It's impossible. This is the truth Shirou Emiya could see. I can't beat him.

But that's fine. I don't have to beat him. I just need to hold out until backup arrives. I can't beat him.

But I can win.

Thinking that, Shirou took on a smirk and assumed his battle stance. Or a resting stance, if you will. Legs shoulder width apart, back slightly leaning back, arms held downwards with the blades held pointing the floor.

Instead of the man rushing towards him, Shirou made the first move, throwing both of his blades at the man's armpits, reinforcing them with his Oracle as he did. They quickly struck, and slid away from the man, returning to Shirou, who had begun running towards him. The man went to raise his sword arm, but had difficulty doing so, only then noticing the cut left by the blades that passed him.

Shirou continued to smirk, until he reached the man and began to attack. He didn't want to kill the man, so he went for disabling blows instead. Going for the elbows, shoulders, knees, and hamstrings. This was made difficult by the fact that the man was immediately on the offensive, trying to crush him, either with hand or blade, every second, causing Shirou to constantly dodge.

This forced Shirou into a bad position, one where, to achieve his goal, he could only deal minor damage, trying to cause a proverbial 'death by a thousand cuts'. So with sliding, spinning, and the like, Shirou became a blur. This seemed to irritate the man, who roared again and began attacking faster, going from missing by a few inches to missing by a hair.

Shirou wanted to believe it was working, but the fact that the man increased in speed gave him doubts. Aside from the man's endurance and speed, Shirou was faced with one other problem. The strain on his God Arcs.

While Unlimited Blade Works were remade, now being more compatible with Shirou's Oracle abilities, they still weren't meant to be flooded with Oracle like this. While they still screamed in pain, it was less intense than last time.

And so, the battle continued. The giant, moving his arms like the wind, and the black and red blur speeding around him. The monotony was occasionally broken up by Shirou or the man landing a lucky strike, allowing them to whale on the other. Or in the man's case, chase after Shirou after sending him flying.

But, all things must come to an end. Shirou was panting, hard. The old pathways where the Oracle flowed through and burnt his skin were beginning to heat up again, and his arms and legs were sore from striking and dodging. The man, on the other hand, was breathing perfectly fine, but was bleeding excessively from all of the small wounds he accrued from Shirou.

The two were standing a few feet from each other, having pushed the other back. Shirou noticed that, while the giant hadn't begun breathing heavier, it had slowed down and become weaker. On an unknown signal, the two charged at each other again, when...

"Ah!"

The giant roared again, but this time it sounded less... bestial. He pulled his hand to his head, and Shirou saw that his eyes had stopped glowing red. He was able to see that his left eye was red, and his right eye was golden, a similar shade to his, but duller. The blood red lines across his body had begun to dim as well.

"Ah! Ah! It... hurts!"

He had talked. His voice was raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in a while, but deep. His hand was still near his head, but he had noticed Shirou's presence. Suddenly, he pulled his hand from his face and pointed towards Shirou, grimacing.

"You! B-Boy! I need... your help!"

Shirou was both cautious and worried.

"W-What do you need help with?"

"I-I need you... to stab me... in the heart!"

At that, Shirou's mind took a seat. Was this man asking him to kill him? Again? Can he not just save one person from something like this? Must he always give them mercy such as this? Before he could dig deeper into his own psyche on the topic, the man had continued.

"It-It will be... fine. I will live! Just do it!"

Looking him in the eyes, Shirou saw that he was serious. Gritting his teeth, Shirou ran forward a few steps and forced Bakuya into the man's heart.

"Th-Thank... you..."

Saying that, the man smiled lightly. Shirou was downtrodden, thinking he had just mercifully killed another, until he heard a strange noise. Like something being stitched. Looking back to the man, he saw that the wounds he had dealt disappeared completely, along with the blood red lines from his Armlet.

Paying attention, Shirou could even hear the man breathing, and hear his heart beating. A small smile began to break across Shirou's face, before...

"W-Whoa!"

The weight of the man came to fully rest upon him, causing Shirou to fall over. Now trapped between the rock ground and a hard person, Shirou attempted to escape, only to feebly fail as he finally felt the exhaustion from the fight properly catch up to him.

He was now fighting the temptation to just fall unconscious. He still had to meet up with his backup. He still had to explain the situation. He still has to make sure Hibari doesn't yell at him. He still has to...

The ground isn't that bad to sleep on anyways...

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, I feel the fight scenes may have been mediocre, but it's been a while since I wrote the last one (maybe a week or two). Also, yes. Hercules gets a personality. I would use what the Type-Moon wiki has to offer, but the closest I have is, 'regrets killing loved ones, is a gentleman'. The first one is obvious, while the second one is from the Tiger Colloseum game apparently. So, for anything I don't have, I'll just defer to Kratos from God of War (4).**

**Second, the contests between Shirou and Lancer and who won was a reference to the stats of Archer and Lancer in F/SN. Archer has D Strength, C Agility, and E Luck. Lancer has B Strength, A Agility, and E Luck.**

**Third, Gboro-Gboros. Going from GE 1 and 2 to 3, I'm certain that the breakable bonds changed. Or, at least their names did. So I don't actually know anymore.**

**Thank you to madchef.dn for favouriting.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 2541**


	30. Snow Fairy and Onyx Protector Meet

Soft. Soft and fluffy. The ground he was sleeping on was soft and fluffy, and only lulled him further into his sleep. The comfort of the... wait.

The ground?

Shifting, Shirou squeezed his hand and felt himself grab something soft, but refusing to move. With a groan, Shirou opened his eyes, blinking at the sudden light.

Looking down, he noticed that he was sleeping on a bed, before turning his head and having his vision immediately fixated on the small snow fairy to his left. She was fast asleep and breathing lightly. Raising his left hand, Shirou pet her head before tucking her hair behind her ear.

Smiling, Shirou decided to remain silent and let Illya sleep. But before long, the door to the Infirmary was opened, and in came Saber and Rin, both looking solemn.

When they turned and saw Shirou, they seemed to blank for a second, before very quickly moving towards him. As they reached him, he had raised his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence, before being very abruptly yanked by the collar straight towards them.

"A-Ah... Hey, Rin... Saber... How are you?"

The two girls were glaring at him hard enough that he could feel their ill-intent. Alongside that, they both looked angry, and their hands were shaking with restrained anger.

"Shirou..."

At once, they said his name, before slowly raising their fists, that weren't holding him, menacingly.

"H-Hey, you two... You know Illya's still asleep, right?"

"Maaah~ Onii-chan~"

Muttering that, Illya, who had been leaning on Shirou's bed, and slightly on Shirou, until that point, leant back into her chair, giving Shirou no more protection from the wrath of his friends.

"Do not worry, Shirou. We can do it quietly."

With that, the punishment for his actions had begun.

* * *

"So, this guy body-tossed an Ukonvasara, forced you to use your Oracle energy, and asked you to stab him in the heart. And when you did, it healed all of his wounds. Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

Rubbing his still-stinging cheeks after Rin and Saber's unrelenting assault, Shirou sighed.

"Hah. I know it sounds crazy, but come on. Is someone being stabbed in the heart and healing all their wounds really that weird? Actually, don't answer that. But, it probably has to do with how he's suffering from Oracle Cell Erosion too."

After everything that happened, Rin and Saber were now seated around Shirou's bed, with Illya in the same position, still somehow asleep despite the slapfest that had occurred.

"Actually, what did you do with him?"

Rin scratched her cheek, looking at Saber.

"Well, Saber was the one dispatched to help you. But I heard he's currently being kept in the Brig."

"Wait, Brig?"

It was Saber that answered this time.

"Yes, Shirou. In my own original visit to the Far East, the Prison Floor was one of the places we were taken to. You likely hadn't heard about it because of how rarely it is used."

"Well, how is he?"

At that, both Saber and Rin looked away awkwardly, before Rin answered,

"He's awake. And he's... fine. No insanity. No desire to fight people. If anything, he was a gentleman."

Hearing that, Shirou's eyes slightly widened in shock, before he nodded.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. He seemed kind of alright when he asked me to stab his heart."

Rin muttered how he doesn't sound very alright if he's asking someone to do that, before looking to Shirou, who began talking again.

"So, do we have any idea on who he is? Where he came from?"

Saber and Rin looked away awkwardly again, with Saber answering,

"He has said that he would be willing to talk, but he would first like to apologize to you for his actions."

"Huh... Alright. When can I go?"

Hearing that, the girls quickly stood up, with Rin chastising him for his nonchalant attitude.

"No, you can't! You just got hospitalized! Even if we said yes, you're not allowed to leave without the doctor's say. So there. Honestly, I don't understand why you can't just take a break."

Before Shirou could rebut that, or even comment, Saber followed up.

"I must agree with her, Shirou. If you keep doing missions, and keep ending them in the Infirmary, without rest, then you will eventually fall."

Taking a breath, Shirou went to speak, but was interrupted again by the Infirmary door opening. From it came Sakaki, holding a clipboard.

"Oh! Hello there. I didn't expect to see you two at this time. And Shirou, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

All of the rooms occupants, sans Illya, looked at Sakaki in surprise.

"Um, Professor... What are you doing here?"

"Why, I'm here for Shirou's check-up. I am a doctor after all."

Walking up to Shirou, Sakaki took out a stethoscope and listened to Shirou's heartbeat, before writing something down on his clipboard. He then pulled out a mini-light, and shined it in Shirou's eyes, focusing on his left, before scribbling something else down.

"So, Shirou, how do you feel? Any pain anywhere?"

Shirou tilted his head, before moving his various parts, before shaking his head in the negative.

"Alright then. You're allowed to leave."

The three conscious occupants looked at him blankly, before the two girls stood up, yelling,

"What!?"

Before the two could continue, the noises coming from the sleeping snow angel took their attention. As she continued mumbling and rolling, she eventually cracked open an eyelid.

"Mmgh... Onii-chan?"

* * *

As the quartet made their way into the elevator, Shirou took a look at the destinations. There were a few unlabeled buttons, but on the bottom of the list was one labelled Prison, which had a button covered in a thin layer of dust.

Pressing it, and wiping the dust off of his finger, Shirou waited as the doors closed and the elevator began to descend, listening to the music playing. It was still Wolf's Howl, but it had apparently changed during the time he was in a coma. According to everyone, it was quite sad, but Archer apparently thought it was bittersweet.

Hearing the elevator ding, Shirou watched as the doors opened and showed a long hallway that went on for a while before turning right. The walls were green with there was also a fair bit of rust, and had a mesh roof where the wires that connected all of the electronics together could be seen.

Along the walls were cells, and a large number of them. They were all pitch black inside due to a lack of prisoner, aside from the one at the end of the hallway, which showed that the rooms were a concrete grey when lit, and had the lead giant that Shirou fought within.

Walking down the hallway, the other three with Shirou were able to experience the shock of his appearance for the first time. Rin was gaping, shocked at how anyone could be that big, or have muscles that big, without having their skin tear. Saber was giving him a critical eye, trying to understand how one so big could move fast enough to challenge Shirou. Illya just looked at him in interest, thinking he could give good piggy-backs.

When they reached his cell door, the man looked up with a pleasant expression, before his eyes widened in shock and he stood up, almost tall enough to touch the roof with his head.

"I-It's you! Are you okay?"

As Shirou figured, his voice was deep, but it also seemed to contain a deep wisdom and understanding.

"Uh, I'm fine. Are you okay, mister?"

Blinking, the man looked at Shirou in confusion, curious at why the boy he had been _crushing _was worried for his safety.

"I'm fine as well. I am glad you are okay. I would like to apologize for my actions."

Saying that, the man bowed his head in apology. Shirou was surprised he was so apologetic, and hurried to respond.

"Ah, d-don't worry about it. Actually..."

Hearing him lead off, the man rose his head, looking into Shirou's heterochromatic eyes, the same as his.

"Yes?"

"Um... I'd like to ask you some questions, if you don't mind."

Now the man was really confused. This boy that he had fought, and he's certain had injured, was being overly polite, despite being faced with a possible enemy.

"...You may."

Sighing in relief, Shirou continued the conversation.

"Hah. That's good. Now then, first thing's first. What's your name? Or what should I call you?"

The giant seemed to still, before sighing sadly.

"Hah. My name, huh? My name hasn't been heard in many years. Sometimes I wonder if I even still know it. But, I suppose you can all call me... Berserker. Appropriate, no?"

Hearing that, Shirou took on a sombre expression, putting his hand to his chest.

"Your name has been forgotten, huh? I can... understand that..."

Squeezing his chest, Shirou looked back up to the now named Berserker, and said,

"I have also forgotten my name. But you can call me Shirou Emiya. It's nice to meet you, Berserker."

When Shirou said that, everyone looked at Shirou confused. The girls had no idea what he was talking about, while Berserker was wondering what this boy had to go through to be able to say something like that. Before anyone could comment on his response, he continued.

"If you don't mind answering more questions, could you tell me what you were doing out there?"

Blinking from the abrupt topic change, Berserker looked at Shirou before looking away ashamed.

"I had... I had gotten into a battle. The enemy had overwhelming numbers, too many for me to easily handle. So I... had to use Mad Enhancement."

"Mad Enhancement?"

"Mad Enhancement is the name of one of my abilities. Most God Eaters that have these Armlets," here he waved around his right hand, with the metal-bangle-like Armlet, "have unique abilities attached. Right?"

That question was directed to Shirou and Saber, who both looked at their right hand Armlets, before nodding. Seeing them nod, Berserker nodded then continued.

"Mad Enhancement gives me increased power, but at the temporary cost of my sanity by flooding my body with Oracle, and depriving my brain of its higher function. I must have travelled a great distance between there and where we fought. I didn't recognise the terrain at all."

"Hmm. Okay. Which branch are you a part of?"

Chuckling humorlessly, Berserker shook his head.

"Branch, huh? I haven't been part of a branch in years. I was exiled a few years ago. Been wandering ever since."

While Shirou was curious what Berserker did to deserve banishment, he decided it would be rude to pry and instead ask possibly the most important question.

"One last question. How did... stabbing you in the chest... _not_ kill you, but instead healed your wounds?"

Chuckling, this time with humour, Berserker ran his hand through his hair and answered.

"That's also one of my abilities. It's called God Hand. It allows me to heal all of my wounds and resume normal functionality by releasing a compartment of Oracle kept in my heart. But there's only a limited number of uses. Anything else?"

Shirou was nodding his head, thinking on whether there was anything else to ask, before deciding there wasn't. He then looked to the others, to see if they had anything they wanted to ask.

Rin was just confused, but seemed to be busy trying to digest the information given. Saber seemed to still be gauging Berserker, using the information given to adjust her expectations. She didn't seem to want to ask any questions either. Illya just looked interested in Berserker as a person. Probably no questions there either.

Looking back to Berserker, Shirou gave him a slight smile.

"Thank you for answering all of my questions. I'll be going now. Let's talk again when you're set free, alright, Berserker?"

Looking slightly surprised, Berserker looked at Shirou before slightly smiling.

"Yeah. I'll see you later then, Shirou."

* * *

It would then take a week or two for the officials of the Far East Branch to get all the information from Berserker they wanted and decided his fate.

It was decided he would be kept in the Far East Branch and have an eye kept on him at almost all times. Since he fought him, Shirou was chosen to be his watcher.

When Shirou and co. heard that, they all went to go see him. They gave him congratulations, and showed him around the base. It was during the tour that the bond between Illya and Berserker really begun.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Berserker. Can you give me a piggy-back ride?"

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and**, **this is kind of a mess. But, I promise this is going somewhere. Would I lie?**

**Second, the Brig is based off of the Brig that appears in Episode 2 of the God Eater Anime.**

**Third, Berserker will probably get proper characterization later. Probably.**

**Thank you lilblazemoi0127 for favouriting and following, and thank you to ptl again for reviewing.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count:** **2124**


	31. Family's Pride Black and White (Begin)

"Hey, hey, Berserker! Do you want to play with me?"

"Hehe. Of course, Illya."

With a smile, Berserker stood from the seat he was on, which somehow retained its shape despite how much he must weigh. Shirou watched as he walked towards Illya and gently picked her up and placed her on his shoulders, before leaving the dining room.

In the time Berserker has been around, he had gained a bizarre reputation among the Den's denizens. He's the scariest-looking person you'll ever meet, but was an absolutely nice guy once you get past that. In particular, he formed a strong relationship with Illya. Though Shirou wouldn't be able to tell, most people compare them to a father and daughter.

Shirou, however, got to see a side of Berserker no one else had. Whenever one went on a mission, the other was made to accompany them. On missions, Berserker showed a high level of experience when it came to expecting an Aragami's patterns and their weak points. Shirou felt awed.

And so it continued for months, until time eventually ticked over to January of the next year. Shirou was in the third term of his third year of high school, and had been passing his tests by the skin of his teeth, as he had been spending more time as a God Eater rather than studying. Everything was fine. Everyone was alright.

But of course, it came to an end. After all, in this world without a God, who can expect a miracle?

* * *

Shirou had stepped out of the elevator on the Labaratory floor. In his hands was a report from Hibari that needed to be delivered to Sakaki. She intended to deliver it herself, but got roped into drinking with the other ladies in the Den. Shirou happened to be nearby and, hearing her predicament, offered to help.

Reaching Sakaki's door, he opened it and was greeted by the sight of Sakaki, looking serious without his usual grin, sitting across from a mysterious figure dressed in a white cloak, hiding his facial features. Hearing the door open, the two looked at Shirou.

"Um... Am I interrupting something?" Shirou asked the two awkwardly.

The uncomfortable silence continued until the mysterious figure clicked his tongue.

"No, you are not. We were just finished."

Saying that in an oddly familiar accent, the figure, now distinguishable as male, stood from his seat and quickly exited the room, barging Shirou in the process. Shirou was able to see the bottom of his face in the process, revealing to him a white beard like a frozen waterfall, and a pale, lined face.

When the door closed, Shirou turned to Sakaki, still looking serious, before looking down to the files in his hands and thought on how he was going to address the situation. Making his decision with a nod, Shirou walked over to Sakaki's desk, put the files he was carrying down on it, took the seat the mysterious man abandoned, then asked,

"Who was that man, Professor?"

Silence was his only reply, so deep in his thoughts was Sakaki. Understanding he likely would get no reply until Sakaki was done sorting his thoughts, Shirou decided to wait in silence, trying to place the mysterious man's accent.

The silence continued for another few minutes before Sakaki nodded his head and looked up, only to flinch back when he saw Shirou sitting in front of him.

"Oh! Shirou, how long have you been waiting?"

Chuckling, Shirou answered,

"Not long, Professor. But if you're done thinking, can you answer my question?"

"Question?"

"Who was that man you were talking to?"

Hearing the question, Sakaki looked down to the desk with a serious expression again, before looking up and saying with an attempt at a normal expression,

"Oh, no one important! Just a donator making wild demands. Nothing that you have to worry about."

Shirou could clearly see he was lying, but knew that he couldn't help Sakaki if he wasn't willing to talk.

"Mmm. Well, if you're sure... Just tell me if it becomes serious, alright?"

Saying that, he stood from his seat and left for the door.

Sakaki only remained silent. As Shirou left the room, he leaned back in his seat and sighed.

"I hope... it doesn't have to come to that..."

For he has denied a powerful man, and he knows, deep down, that this man will not be denied. No matter the cost, to himself or others.

Sakaki was right.

* * *

"Excuse me, Shirou. Have you seen Illya anywhere?"

Turning, Shirou saw Berserker approaching him. Berserker had a vaguely worried expression on his face, clenching and unclenching his hands.

"No... Why? Are you looking for her?"

Hearing that, Berserkers worried expression only got worse.

"Yes. Illya and I promised to meet earlier today, but she didn't appear. I waited for ten minutes before paying a visit to her room. She wasn't there."

"Hm. That does sound worrying. Have you asked anyone else? And gone around the Den?"

Berserker quickly nodded.

"I have asked everyone I had come across, and searched everywhere I could think of. There was neither hide nor hair of her. After speaking to you, I was thinking of going to Professor Sakaki."

"I'll come with you."

At that, Berserker felt a sense of relief that Illya had such a reliable brother figure, before nodding and making his way to the elevator down the hallway. Shirou nodded as well and followed suit. As they walked, they both wondered silently,

"Where are you, Illya?"

* * *

Hearing his door open, Sakaki looked up to see Shirou and Berserker walking through the doorway. Or squeezing through, in Berserker's case.

"What can I do for you, Shirou, Berserker?"

Seeing Sakaki smile caused the slight tension in Shirou's chest from Sakaki's seriousness a few days ago ease. Looking to Berserker, he remembered why he came here, and turned back to Sakaki.

"Excuse me, Professor. Have you seen Illya at all today?"

Tilting his head, Sakaki thought on It before answering.

"Illya? No, I don't believe so. Why? Are you looking for her?"

Nodding, Shirou and Berserker began to explain the situation. When they were done, Sakaki leaned back in his chair, a serious expression once more on his face.

"When you checked her room... was there anything out of the ordinary? Maybe something out of place?"

"Hm... I am not certain. I haven't visited her room many times, so I am unfamiliar with its normal state. Shirou, would you be able to tell if anything was out of the ordinary?"

Surprised, Shirou looked at Berserker before answering.

"Maybe. I've been there enough to notice anything extremely out of order, but nothing subtle. Should we go take a look?"

Nodding in response to Shirou's question, Berserker turned around and began to leave, before being interrupted by Sakaki.

"Wait. Allow me to come with you. I have a good idea on what has happened, but I need more proof before I can be certain."

Saying that, Sakaki stood from his chair and walked past Shirou out the doorway, reaching Berserker. For a few seconds, Shirou stood behind them, feeling dread build in his chest, before shaking it off and following after the two.

* * *

Arriving on the Guest Floor, which had apparently been called the Blood Floor for a while, Shirou, Berserker, and Sakaki exited the elevator. While the Guest Floor had multiple rooms, there were few actual guests to occupy them.

Taking a few steps, they immediately stopped at the door to the left of the elevator. It was a plain door, impossible to differentiate from every other door in the Den, except for the plaque that bore Illya's name.

Taking a deep breath, Shirou opened the door and saw...

"That's... weird."

"What's weird about it, Shirou? It looks like the room that any responsible young girl Illya's age would have."

"Well, that's the problem. It's... It's too... clean."

And clean it was. There was nothing out of place. The bed was neatly made, none of the little odds and ends she had bought or had been given were tossed around, nothing was messy. And that's weird.

"Illya isn't neat. I've seen her room before, and it was never neat. Sure, there were times when it was close, but not this close. She always insists on having the blanket at least touching the floor, so she can ball it up later."

"Hm... I'd always figured that Illya would be neat and tidy about this, but... I suppose this does not contradict her image."

As Shirou and Berserker were talking about Illya and her sleeping habits, Sakaki stepped into the room and began to investigate, looking for some proof that it was _him_ that had taken her.

Hearing what Shirou had said about Illya's bed, he decided to focus there. He was scanning the blanket for any type of physical evidence, when Shirou noticed him and asked,

"Professor? What are you doing?"

Without looking over, Sakaki answered,

"I'm looking for a sign of who took Illya. Or at least, a sign that she was taken."

At that, Shirou and Berserker stilled, before yelling out,

"Taken!?"

Before the two could ask anymore questions, Sakaki pulled the blanket off of the bed to reveal what was underneath. It was plain for the most part, but Sakaki was able to find a few things.

"Hmm... Some tear marks over here... The bed sheet is rustled out of order... Is that? It is, it's white hair, bordering on grey! If I can just analyze this..."

"Professor!"

Jumping, Sakaki looked over to Shirou, who was looking both irritated and worried.

"Professor, can you please tell us what's going on? What do you mean Illya's been taken?"

Sakaki looked at Shirou, before looking away with shame.

"It's... Do you remember that time you walked into my office, and I was talking with a man in a white cloak?"

Shirou nodded, immediately recalling the mysterious man.

"The man with the accent, right?"

"Yes. He is... Illya's 'family'. He had demanded I return her to him. I refused. Now, I fear he has taken her."

Hearing that, a switch was flipped in both Shirou and Berserker. Their normally heterochromatic eyes had turned into a single colour, steel grey and crimson red respectively.

"So then... That's what you were worried about. And you never thought to tell us? To warn us about him?"

"I... I didn't want you all to worry... I had believed that it may not have come to this, that this could be worked out reasonably..."

"No, you didn't. You're too smart to think like that, Sakaki. You may call yourself an idealist, but even an idealist would know."

"...I did know... But I believe... that this can lead to the best outcome."

Silence greeted his statement. Berserker was shaking and breathing heavily, looking ready to tear something apart. Shirou just looked down, letting his hair cover his eyes.

"Fine then. We'll save Illya. Just tell us where to go."

"I'll send you the coordinates once I can prove who did this. In the meantime, the two of you should get ready."

Saying that, he then left the room for his lab, but not before pausing in the doorway and saying,

"I'm sorry."

When he left, and they could hear the elevator descending, Shirou looked at Berserker. As the two looked into each other's eyes, they could see the same thing. Anger, and a burning desire to save her. Nodding at each other, they then both left the room stiffly, heading for the God Arc Loading Bay to get ready.

* * *

The two looked up at the sound of the door to the God Arc Loading Bay opening. Shirou was sitting on a crate in his combat outfit, and had been tuning his God Arcs, while Berserker merely leaned against the wall, his God Arc beside him.

Entering the room was Sakaki, holding an honest-to-God paper map and what looked like a blueprint, followed by Saber and Rin. All three of them wore serious expressions.

"Here. It's the location of the Einsbern's Port. It's located near the City of Mercy, so you will need to take a vehicle. I already have a jeep and a driver ready for you."

The serious tension in the room persisted, before Shirou began to ask questions.

"Port?"

"A Port is an underground base made to protect its inhabitants. Only the strongest backers of Fenrir can even afford to have one made."

"Why are Saber and Rin here?"

"I believed that the two of you would need assistance. Besides that, when they heard that Illya was in trouble, they wouldn't take no for an answer."

Nodding, Shirou turned his head towards Saber and Rin. He looked into their eyes, and only saw the same thing he saw in Berserker's: that anger, and that desire to save her. But he needed to make certain.

"Are you both sure? If we go, then we might have to come to blows with them. We may even have to... kill them."

Shirou said that with a slight grimace. A Hero of Justice shouldn't have to kill someone to save another. But...maybe he doesn't have what it takes to achieve that. Even Kiritsugu, his own hero, killed people to save others. Excalibur's memories showed him that.

Enough of his own heart was filled with the life bestowed from doing something that is achievable, that he can live for without suffering. But his heart was still a desert of blades, a lifeless wasteland still desiring his impossible dream. He would still try, because that's his reason for living... isn't it?

"I..."

Shirou looked up, pulled out of his introspection at the sound of Saber's voice.

"I desire to save Illya. Even if that means I must slay my enemies."

Her voice was filled with determination, and a steel that belies her appearance. Nodding, Shirou then looked to Rin, who was trying to hide the slight hesitation now in her eyes.

"Rin?"

"I... I don't want to kill someone... But if they get in the way of saving Illya...," the hesitation in her eyes disappearing, she continued, "I won't hesitate."

There was a silence at that, before Shirou just sighed and nodded. He had hoped that Rin would refuse. He, Saber, and likely Berserker as well already had blood on their hands. But she was still pure. Sighing again, he looked over to Sakaki.

"Who was the one that took Illya? And how did he take her without anyone noticing?"

Sakaki took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, before answering,

"The DNA test showed that the hair I found had matched up with the profile ofJubstacheit von Einsbern. Illya's grandfather. He is the patriarch of the Einsbern family, and was a personal backer to the previous Director of the Far East Branch. As such, he was made privy to the various underground passages leading into and out of the Den. That's likely how he moved around undetected."

When he was done, Shirou nodded, satisfied with all of his questions.

"Alright then. If that's all, we'll be going now."

Turning, Shirou moved to exit the Den, only to be stopped by Sakaki.

"Shirou! Please, save Illya. Save her from my mistake."

Shirou looked at Sakaki, who was now bowing, silently, before saying,

"Of course I will. But you better apologise to her when this is all over."

Then he left, followed by Berserker, Saber, and Rin, the latter two sending Sakaki some worried glances, leaving Sakaki all alone.

* * *

**I'll talk next chapter.****Word Count: 2572**


	32. Family's Pride Black and White (Meeting)

"So then, this is the place. Certainly looks anonymous."

The quartet had arrived out the front of where the Einsbern Port was apparently located. When they arrived at the entrance to the City of Mercy, they began to consult the map.

The map lead them through a maze of twists and turns, deep into the city, and only further highlighted how empty it really was. How quiet it is without life. Not even an Aragami to make noise.

The building before them was destroyed, broken down so it only had the exterior of the first floor, and even then only half of it.

"Are you sure this is where the Port is?"

"Yes, Rin. This is exactly where the map leads. Now come on, we should go look inside for the entrance. The Professor did say it was underground, right?"

Saying that, Shirou walked towards the building's door and pushed it open, causing it to open smoothly, as if it had been oiled recently. Looking in the building, he could see the floor covered in refuse, likely from the upper floor and the roof. But near the center of the floor, there was a large space clear of refuse.

Nodding to himself, Shirou pulled out the blueprints for the Port, looking for the entrance. It appeared that the opening was almost the entire clearing, and was operated by a mechanism in the--

"Raaah!!"

Bang.

"What the!?"

Looking over, Shirou saw Berserker raising and lowering his God Arc, trying to bust the door open. Shirou would tell him to stop, if not for the fact that it was working.

"Hah. There goes the element of surprise."

Taking a seat on some of the larger refuse, Shirou studied the blueprints again and tried to devise a plan of attack. As he did, Rin and Saber just watched on, stupefied by Berserker's approach.

Eventually, Berserker created a gap big enough for all of them to go through. As the sound of crushing and rending stopped, Shirou got off of his impromptu chair and moved to the three. The opening in the floor transitioned into a short drop, supplemented by a ladder, and another floor with a terminal on it.

"This should be the elevator into the Port."

Answering the silent question he felt the others wondering, Shirou hopped down the gap onto the elevator and began to check the terminal. As he did, the others looked at each other before following suit.

"Here it is."

With that, Shirou pressed the button that would take them to the Port. When he did, the elevator shuddered slightly, before it began to descend. As it did, Shirou asked for everyone to gather around.

"Alright. I looked over the blueprints a few times, and I've developed a plan, and a general idea of where Illya probably is. I'd like to talk about it and discuss options."

And talk they did. The most important topics were Illya's possible locations. She could be held in the Laboratory, in her room, or even in Jubstacheit's office. The four had likely lost the element of surprise, if not because Berserker had attacked the entrance, then because someone would hear the elevator. It was during this talk that a certain question came up.

"Shirou, are you okay? You're acting quite different from usual."

It was Saber that asked, but Rin quickly followed up.

"Yeah, Shirou. You've been really active in this, and not in your usual way. It's like you're... you're..."

While Rin was at a loss for words, Berserker corroborated their beliefs.

"They are right. I have gone on many missions with you, and while you do normally make plans, you are calm while doing so. Right now, you are acting too readily to be considered normal. While it's small, it is still noticeable."

Shirou looked at the three in silence, before scratching the back of his head and dryly chuckling.

"Hehe. Sorry. I guess... because I have all of this information, I let it get to my head. The last time I did something like this, I was walking in blind. So having all of this info made me feel empowered. But, the battlefield is ever-changing. I can't let myself forget that."

With a slight upward curl of his lip, he thanked them, before proposing a strategy meeting, with his plan as a base.

They weren't going to lose.

* * *

When the elevator eventually arrived, the four were prepared for enemies to attack them, or even just curious onlookers to find them and alert the Port. But there was no one there. In front of the elevator was a large hallway that led to a door.

Taking a group formation, with Berserker as the vanguard, Shirou and Saber as the main, and Rin as the rear, they moved towards the door. As they walked, they continuously checked their surroundings, constantly making sure they weren't about to be attacked. When they eventually reached the door, Berserker gave them all a look before slowly opening the door, to reveal...

"Woah..."

A castle. A castle, straight out of a picture book. Even if they already saw a rough sketch from the blueprints, they didn't expect this. It even came with its own courtyard, made of packed dirt and artificial white grass. Although, it was quite cold in the Port.

"Are those...?"

On the courtyard were a great number of people, all with pale skin, white hair, and red eyes. All of various heights and appearances, yet all bound by those simple things.

"The Einsberns. I'm certain of it."

Saying that, Shirou scoped out the distance between the Port's entrance and the castle. It wasn't far, a few dozen meters, but there were still a large amount of people between the two.

They could sneak by, but even if Shirou, Rin, and Saber somehow all remained undetected, Berserker would still draw attention due to his large size. With a sigh, Shirou said,

"Hah. I suppose we'll have to use a more direct method?"

With a nod, the four slowly stepped off of the stone of the entrance way, and onto the dirt path below. In the same formation, but with their weapons held low and their stances casual, they made their way towards the castle. It was halfway down the path that the people outside took note of them, but instead of walking to them or even alerting whatever security they have, they just watched.

Slightly surprised, but still cautious, the quartet made their way to the castle doors. They were unguarded, and were easily pushed open. The open doors revealed a hall straight out of the Gothic Victorian era. With a checker-patterned floor, a set of stairs covered in a red carpet leading to the second floor's balcony, and multiple doorways leading to various locations throughout the castle.

As the quartet moved forward to closer investigate the room, the doors behind them snapped shut, surprising them. When the shock wore off, they all looked at the various pathways, before Shirou asked,

"Should we go with the original plan?"

The original plan was to enter the castle undetected and then split up to visit the potential areas Illya could be kept. While they weren't undetected, their plan hadn't actually been interrupted. When everyone agreed, they split up for their locations.

Saber and Rin took the doorway on the left side of the hall, near the entrance, making their way to the Laboratory. Shirou and Berserker both made their way up the stairs, before splitting up, with Berserker taking the door on the right balcony for Illya's bedroom, and Shirou taking the door straight ahead of him for Jubstacheit's office.

* * *

The hallway Saber and Rin found themselves in was quiet, and felt empty despite the number of people that must live there. The hallway itself had a wooden floor with a cream carpet, stone walls and few windows, instead being lit by candles on sconces all the way down the hallway.

The two found it strange that there were no people inside, or none that they've found at least, instead with everyone standing outside of the castle.

"I don't think it's this one either..."

Rin sighed as the many doors along the hallway all looked the same, and it was becoming a tad difficult for her to remember which door lead to the Laboratory.

"I believe... the door we need to take is further down, near the end of the hallway."

Saber was trying her best to help, but was also being confused by the monotony of the garish hallway.

"I wish Shirou had given us the map before we split up... Oh well, foresight is 20/20, right?"

Saying that, the two continued to walk down the hallway, occasionally testing doors every few steps. Eventually, they came across a door significantly different to the rest. Instead of being an elegant wooden door, it was metal, with a plaque above it saying 'Laboratory'. The two silently looked at the door, before Rin took a deep breath and sighed.

"Haah. Okay, maybe it was more obvious than we expected."

Shaking her head, Rin attempted to open the door, only for it to not budge.

"Hah. I don't know why I expected anything different, considering all the other doors were locked."

Putting her hand to her chin, she thought on where the keys to the door could possibly be, and was about to voice her thoughts to Saber, before Saber grabbed her shoulder and sent her a serene smile. Stepping forward, Saber raised her God Arc in a stance reminiscent of a starting kendo stance, before bringing her God Arc down on where the door lock probably was, tearing a giant hole through it. When she pulled her God Arc out of the door, it swung open gently.

"There. Now it is open."

Saber delivered that with a serene smile, before entering the doorway. Rin just looked at her before shuddering, promising herself not to make Saber mad at any point in the future, then followed after her.

Beyond the door was a short flight of stone stairs that ended in another metal door. Luckily for the door, it was unlocked. Pushing it open, they were shown an alarming display.

The room was large, and made of stone. All along the room, in rows of 5, were gurneys. And on each gurney was a still body, with pale skin, white hair, and red eyes.

"What the...?"

That's all Rin could say as she and Saber looked on the seemingly infinite rows of still people with shock. When they eventually got over the shock, Saber and Rin stumbled over to the closest gurney. This one had a male, covered by a small sheet. With slightly shaking hands, Rin reached for his neck, trying to find a pulse, while Saber felt his chest for any breathing or a heartbeat. Finding no signs of life, they both stepped back and looked at all of the other people on the gurnies.

"Are... Are they all...?"

"...Dead. I am certain. Everyone in this room is dead."

"What... happened here?"

Looking to each other, they decided to investigate the rest of the room. Ignoring the many gurnies, they focused on the various desks against the walls. They were all clean and free of clutter, except for the desk at the back of the room, which had a sheaf of paper. Picking up the paper, Rin read the title aloud.

"'Studies into the Synthesis of Humanoid Aragami, and the Effects of Their Cells on the Human Biology'?"

Before Rin could continue reading the document...

Crash! Bang!

"What the-!?"

"What is-!?"

Turning at the sound of the explosion, Rin and Saber quickly made their way out of the Laboratory, Rin pocketing the document as they did.

* * *

Berserker was going down a hallway similar to the one Rin and Saber were going down at the same time, the only difference being which side the doors were on. Berserker had memorized the position of Illya's room, and knew that her room was at the end of the hall.

Even though he was walking quickly to his destination, he still kept an eye out for his surroundings. Especially the windows. They were easy entry points, and he was a large target.

Eventually he reached Illya's door, and reached out to open it. It was locked, but pulling back his hand and letting out a jab, he broke the doorknob and the lock clean off. Pushing the door, he saw a large room with an incredibly large bed near the centre.

The bed, big enough to fit him, had bedposts that reached the roof, and had see-through curtains attached, providing the bed an aesthetic similar to that of a fairytale's princess. Besides the bed was a dusty drawer, small and wooden. Against the wall to Berserker's left was a large window, giving him a view of the courtyard that composed the rest of the Port.

With a sigh, Berserker moved over to the bedside drawer. Gently placing his hand on the handle, he tugged the drawer open. The drawer slid out a little roughly, but managed to pull out without falling onto the floor. Looking inside, Berserker caught sight of a stuffed bunny, an old drawing, and some... walnuts?

Looking closer, Berserker saw that they were actually wingnuts, a species of tree in the walnut family that bore winged nuts. Making a grunt, Berserker then looked over to the drawing.

Picking it up, he saw that it was quite old, and seemed to have been drawn with an unskilled hand. It featured two circles, both drawn to near perfection, each having lines marking the eyes and mouth. Then, the hair was outlined.

The one on the left had short, spiky hair that was filled in, while the one on the right had long hair that wasn't filled in. The left one had lines drawn on the face, likely to represent stubble, while the white one had red eyes. Next to each face was a word written in barely-legible chicken scratch. The left one had 'Daddy' written next to it, and the right one had 'Mommy'.

Looking at it, Berserker let out a sad sigh.

"Were these your parents, Illya? I hope... they were good parents."

With another sigh, Berserker put the picture back in the draw and began to slide it closed when...

Crash! Bang!

Berserker looked towards the source of the noise, moving towards the window only to see Shirou flying towards the courtyard.

"Shirou!"

* * *

The hall Shirou found himself in was large and almost identical to every other hall in the castle. The only difference being that the hall had no doors except for one, which was at the end of the hallway.

While Shirou had been given the location that was the most direct, he knew that he would likely find Jubstacheit. And Jubstacheit would not be as happy as the people outside to see him. As such, Shirou walked at a moderate pace, investigating his surroundings as he passed.

Eventually reaching the door at the end of the hall, Shirou read the plaque on it that said 'Office'. Reaching for the door handle, Shirou turned it and the door opened. As it swung open, Shirou could see the office in all its glory.

With a wooden floor without a carpet, it had three main pieces of furniture. To both sides of the room there was a small bench, reminiscent of a church pew, and a full-bodied wooden desk at the end of the room opposite the door with a chair facing the wall. That same wall was almost entirely made of window, allowing a perfect view of the field outside.

And standing behind the desk and next to the chair, looking out that window, was a person slightly taller than Shirou, with long, silver, rigid hair, looking like a sheet of ice. They were wearing a white robe with golden trim, reaching down to their feet and not revealing anything about their body type.

"You're... Jubstacheit von Einsbern... Illya's grandfather, right?"

With a chuckle, the person turned to face Shirou, revealing his face. It was lined with years of experience, and had the beard like a frozen waterfall, just like Shirou remembered. Like the rest of his family, he had pale skin and red eyes. His hair being white bordering on grey instead of pure white was likely caused by his old age.

"Heh. You would be correct. And you are Shirou Emiya, are you not? I was expecting you."

"You were... what? Why were you expecting me?"

"Simple. You are his son after all. Abandoning his daughter wouldn't have sat well with him, and it likely wouldn't have with you. I was surprised when you brought assistance with you. I suppose I shouldn't assume that you are exactly like him."

Blinking, Shirou looked at Jubstacheit in shock.

"You knew my Father?"

"Of course I knew him. He married my second-greatest creation after all. Aside from that, I was one of his contractors when he was freelancing."

Shirou could only look at Jubstacheit in bafflement, before focusing on the more important topic.

"Illya. Where is she?"

"Hehe. Why, she is right here."

Saying that, he spun around the chair next to him, revealing an unconscious Illya sitting in it snugly, dressed in a white nightgown.

"Illya!"

Without thinking, Shirou moved forward, towards the desk to reach Illya. At the same time, Jubstacheit began to move around the desk, on the opposite side to Shirou. When Shirou eventually reached Illya, the two had swapped positions, with Shirou at the window and Jubstacheit at the door.

"Don't worry Illya, I'll get you out of here."

Saying that, Shirou reached out to pick up Illya, only to be interrupted.

"Sorry, but I cannot allow that."

Shirou stopped, then turned to Jubstacheit with narrowed eyes, raising Bakuya.

"And how will you do that?"

"Like this."

Pulling back his right arm, Jubstacheit's expression went still, only letting out a twitch of his eye as the sound of tearing echoed throughout the room, before his arm seemed to explode in a burst of blood. In the next instant, Shirou saw a giant red and white tendril coming right for him.

Crash! Bang!

Pushing Illya away, he was struck by the tendrils with a crash and forced through the window with a bang.

Then he hit the ground.

* * *

The packed dirt of the courtyard was displaced, resulting in a large cloud of dust to appear. The people in the field were screaming, confused at the sudden explosion. Groaning, Shirou pushed himself up, trying to make sense of the last few seconds.

As the dust began to clear, two distinct things happened. First, Jubstacheit jumped from the now shattered window onto the field, his legs seeming to break and then reform to a normal state. Second, Berserker burst from the window next to the one Shirou and Jubstacheit came out of.

"Shirou!"

Berserker then ran towards Shirou, impossibly light on his feet. Reaching him, Berserker then turned, looking for whoever had launched Shirou out of the building. His gaze was immediately drawn to Jubstacheit, who was looking at them with a smirk. Before he could say anything, Shirou stood up and told him,

"Berserker... Illya's in there. You should get her."

Pointing at the room he came out of, Shirou nodded at Berserker, telling him to go. Berserker looked conflicted, before nodding and moving towards the room.

"You're not going anywhere."

With a snap of Jubstacheit's fingers, everything changed. After Shirou landed, some of the Einsberns had run over to where he landed, trying to see what happened. Now they were screaming, holding their hands to their heads.

Suddenly, their bodies began to contort. They all fell to their knees, before their bodies began to split apart. Their legs, their arms, their heads, everything split and reformed. Their arms disappeared, moving to the legs and head, causing them to become ginormous compared to their original size. It also resulted in a tail-like protrusion forming.

The bones in their skull began to grow, quickly tearing through the skin and forming an angular, helmet-like skull. Their teeth also elongated, becoming jagged and sharp. All the while, they were crying out in pain. When they eventually stopped changing, Shirou and Berserker let out a small gasp. The Einsberns had become something similar in appearance to Ogretails, but instead with red eyes and pale skin stretched across the body instead of fur.

No longer screaming in pain, they just roared, now mindless. Shirou and Berserker looked upon them and Jubstacheit with rage and disgust, respectively.

"You bastard!"

Shirou yelled that out and began to move towards Jubstacheit, when suddenly one of the Einsbern-turned-Ogretails jumped in front of Shirou. Without thinking, Shirou immediately brought up his God Arcs, severing the Einsbern's head. As the Einsbern fell to the floor, Shirou looked down on it.

It was silent for a few seconds, until he looked back up at Jubstacheit. Without meaning to, Jubstacheit slightly flinched. For Shirou's eyes had become similar to Kiritsugu's, whose gaze always made him uncomfortable. Instead of the warmth of life, or even the inferno of his rage, his steel grey eyes had gone cold, dead to all.

Taking a breath, Shirou began to walk towards Jubstacheit, this time calmly, when another Einsbern jumped in front of him. Without blinking, he decapitated it. Flicking the blood off of his God Arcs, he called out,

"Berserker. Take care of them. I've got the old man."

Without waiting for a response, Shirou began to walk towards Jubstacheit again. This time when an Einsbern jumped towards him, it was intercepted and executed by Beserker, bisecting it vertically. Shirou continued to walk, uninterrupted.

"Jubstacheit von Einsbern. I swear...," breaking into a run, he continued, "I will destroy you!"

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, little disclaimer, this and chapter 31 were both published at around the same time, so read that one if you don't have this as a notification.**

**Second, why it took me 6 days to drop another chapter. It was a mix between laziness, school starting back up soon, polishing up for my end of year school exams, and watching SBFP Compilations.**

**Another thing is that this chapter, last chapter, and next chapter were all going to be one chapter, a 10K word behemoth. But then I felt guilty because of how long it was taking so, here we are. Next chapter should take a few days.**

**Side note, the chapter name is Family's Pride; Black and White.**

**Thank you to aymdrim, Xyztama, Relic Dragon, Jose 3, NaN BeYonD, Crimson green flame, and Bladekotsu for favouriting and following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3666**


	33. Family's Pride Black and White (End)

Rin and Saber burst out of the front door of the castle, into the courtyard. Looking around, they tried to find where the explosion happened, but immediately had their eyes drawn to the pale monstrosities standing around everywhere.

They were like Ogretails, but white, furless, and covered in blood. They were all staring towards the back of the castle, but had turned around at the sound of the castle doors opening. They looked at the duo before looking back to whatever was behind the castle.

"W-what are they?"

"I... I do not know."

The two didn't know what to do, so they just watched. Eventually, the sound of combat reached their ears. Realizing it came from the back of the castle, they looked at each other and nodded, before moving from the entrance to the side of the castle. But when they did...

"**Roooaaaarr!!**"

One of the Aragami-like things had leapt at them as they were walking. Rin was surprised at the sudden attack, while Saber immediately reacted, impaling the Aragami-thing through the eye, killing it.

"Are you okay Rin?"

Offering Rin her hand, Saber pulled Rin up. Standing, Rin thanked Saber.

"Y-Yeah. Let's go."

Together they continued to the back of the castle. They were attacked twice more, but they were both ready and quickly dispatched their enemies. When they rounded the corner to the back of the castle, they were greeted with the sight of multiple Aragami-thing corpses, Berserker fighting more of them, and Shirou fighting a bird thing.

"What is going on!?"

* * *

When Shirou had charged at Jubstacheit, Jubstacheit's first instinct was to lash out, make Shirou stumble. With another tearing sound, his right arm tore apart into bloody tendrils, whipping out at Shirou.

They came from three directions, above him and to both sides. With a slight click of his tongue, Shirou leapt back, out of his guess on Jubstacheit's range, and threw Bakuya at him.

Seeing the incoming blade, Jubstacheit flinched back and rose his left arm, forcing the bones within to tear out of his arms in something like a brace, which caused his tendrils to return back to him.

While Bakuya pierced his bone brace, stopping only an inch from piercing his face, Shirou took the time between throwing and Jubstacheit's blocking to rush him. Right in front of him, Shirou took hold of Bakuya, and thrust Kanshou into his unguarded abdomen.

Without any resistance, Kanshou slid straight through Jubstacheit's body, up to the hilt. With a pained gasp, Jubstacheit spat out some blood, as it poured out of his stomach wound and onto Shirou's hand.

"N-No... It can't... end like this..."

Raising his now normal right hand, he grabbed Shirou's shoulder.

"I won't... let it end like this... I will... restore our family!"

Then he began to change. He threw his head back with a scream as his entire body began to tear apart. With his arms outstretched, his entire body seemed to grow. His arms elongating beyond their flesh, and his abdomen growing larger, ripping apart his skin and his robe.

As his bones grew and his flesh tore, the skin and bones from his legs reformed to attempt to cover his new form, creating tendrils wrapped around his ribcage and arms, and also creating tendrils like feathers near the bottom of his ribcage and under his arms.

As he grew, Kanshou slid out of his stomach, while Bakuya stayed in his arm. Shirou looked up towards Jubstacheit, now in a form reminiscent of a bird. With an annoyed sigh, Shirou asked,

"What is it with all you old men turning into horrifying monsters?"

His only response was a ferocious roar from Jubstacheit.

* * *

Jubstacheit had taken flight, his 'wings' somehow supporting his body's weight, yet not rising above the castle. His 'feathers' on his 'tail' elongated and began to lash out at Shirou. While they were easily dodged, Shirou didn't have an actual idea of how to approach the situation. Jubstacheit was flying in the air, not high, but high enough where he wouldn't be able to reach just by jumping. He couldn't use a ranged attack with his bow because the other half of his God Arc was stuck in Jubstacheit's 'wing'.

Dodging some more tendrils swipes, Shirou continued thinking. He could throw Kanshou, but that would leave him undefended while it was flying. When another tendril came for him, Shirou side-stepped it and grabbed onto it with his spare hand, ignoring the sting of foreign Oracle Cells interacting with his own.

When Jubstacheit roared again and retracted his tendrils, Shirou tried to hold on, and succeeded long enough to get airborne, only for the tendrils to split apart into smaller tendrils and slip out of his grip, before attacking him from all angles. With a curse, Shirou tried to fend off the tendrils. While he managed to get most of them, the smaller ones and the ones in his blind spots stabbed him. With gusto, he quickly severed those tendrils and disconnected himself from Jubstacheit.

On the floor again, and panting, Shirou took a quick status check. His right thigh had some small wounds, as did his stomach and left shoulder. Shirou honestly had no idea what to do, no ingenious idea to take Jubstacheit down.

"What is going on!?"

Looking over in surprise, he saw Rin and Saber staring at him, Berserker, the Einsberns, and Jubstacheit. When he noticed them, he had an idea.

"Rin! Saber! We need a hand! Rin, I need you to shoot the bird! Saber, can you give Berserker a hand!?"

When he saw the two nod, Shirou couldn't help but smile in slight satisfaction before going back to a neutral expression. As Rin reached him, she began taking potshots at Jubstacheit, aiming mainly for the ribcage and the head. Turning, he saw Saber assisting Berserker in the wholesale slaughter of the Einsberns, thinning the crowd considerably.

"Berserker, I need a hand here! A fastball special!"

Slicing another Einsbern apart, Berserker looked over to Shirou in confusion, before he realized what Shirou meant and nodded. Previously, Kota had told the two at some point about something the characters did in Bugarally, a fastball special.

Raising his God Arc to his left side with both hands, the blade turned diagonally, Berserker looked at Shirou and waited. With a nod, Shirou sprinted towards Berserker before jumping, landing his feet on Berserker's God Arc. In the next instant, after Shirou's momentum had transferred to Berserker's God Arc, Berserker turned at the waist, before swinging his God Arc and shooting Shirou off in a blur of black and red.

Suddenly, Shirou was right up in Jubstacheit's face, and brought down Kanshou on Jubstacheit's head before, using his head as a fulcrum, jumping towards Bakuya with Kanshou in hand. Grabbing Bakuya, he then began to pull and push before just bringing Kanshou down on the joint, ripping it open and letting Bakuya free.

With a cry of pain, Jubstacheit fell to the floor, Shirou having already hopped off. Jubstacheit, now with an almost severed right 'wing' and a gaping hole where his head was, feebly struggled to get up. At that moment, Berserker and Saber had just gotten done with killing the remaining Einsberns.

All at once, the four attacked Jubstacheit. Shirou went for the head, severing it and chopping up the brain, while Saber and Rin handled both of his 'wings', and Berserker began to crush his ribcage, intentionally trying to go for the heart. After a good while of attacking him, the four stopped and checked to make sure he was actually down. When they were certain, they moved away from him and the Einsberns, in between them. With some panting, they began to talk.

"What... What is that thing? What are _any _of these things?"

"Yes, I would like to know as well."

"Hah. Well that," pointing to Jubstacheit, Shirou continued, "is Jubstacheit von Einsbern."

"What!? How!?"

"I don't know. Considering him and Zouken, it seems implanting Oracle Cells in humans, uncorrected by Bias Factor, turns them into horrible, shapeshifting monsters."

"Okay, but what are _they_?"

At that, Shirou's expression went still, before he looked away and asked,

"They're... the Einsberns."

Rin and Saber looked uncomprehending for a moment, before their expressions changed to realization and horror. Before they could say anything, Shirou continued.

"Jubstacheit, he... he did something to them. Turned them into those things. Don't feel bad. The best we could have done was put them out of their misery."

Despite saying this, Shirou still blamed himself for not having the strength he needed to save them, and it was obvious to the others. As the quartet stood solemnly, a slight twitching went unnoticed by them. The twitching grew stronger and spread, until, with the only warning being the shifting of dirt and a mocking caw, a tendril shot out from Jubstacheit's 'corpse', coming right for Shirou's head.

No one could react in time. The sound of flesh parting, of blood falling to the ground, and Shirou crying out in shock at what he saw echoed.

"Berserker!"

For when the tendrils came for his head, the only person who could react, the only person who saw before it was too late, was Berserker. He pushed Shirou out of the way and took the blow, with it piercing through his heart.

Jubstacheit seemed to let out a disappointed sigh, before retracting his tendrils and pushing himself upwards. Then, with speed several magnitudes faster than what was shown previously, Jubstacheit flew upwards, beyond their range. At the same time, the previously-thought dead Einsberns began to stand up, the ones that were in pieces being reattached with fleshy tendrils.

Our heroes, meanwhile, had gathered around the downed Berserker in worry. Even though he was pierced through the heart, meaning his body and mind had been healed, it was still worrying for him to get stabbed in the heart. With a pained grunt, Berserker pushed himself up, telling them he would be fine while drawing their attention to the enclosing ring of Einsberns.

From there, the combat renewed. But instead of being the pushovers they were before, the Einsberns were all moving faster, fighting more ferociously, and were rebounding from fatal wounds, just getting up again and again.

All the while, Jubstacheit was attacking from the skies, sending out tendrils when they weren't looking, divebombing them, being a general nuisance. He too would heal from whatever damage he took.

And as they fought and fought, they were worn down more and more. The situation got desperate enough that Shirou and Saber had to use their high-cost Oracle attacks. Saber had released a wide Excalibur Strike, hitting most of the Einsberns, while Shirou released a Caladbolg at Jubstacheit, damaging him and sending him away, but he just got back up.

The fight seemed hopeless, yet none of them gave up. Shirou kept sending arrows at Jubstacheit, Saber and Berserker kept the Einsberns at bay, and Rin did both, launching Gandrs at Jubstacheit and any Einsbern's that slipped by. The only upside was when the realization was made that their attacks were having an effect. The more they died, the easier it became to kill them, the weaker they got, until eventually they would just stop and fade away.

When they realized that, their perception of the battle changed. They didn't have to kill all of the enemies at once, they just had to kill until they couldn't get back up. It was a battle of attrition, but they were the ones with the disadvantage.

And those disadvantages began to stack up.

* * *

It was without warning that Jubstacheit divebombed one of the Einsberns, before flying back up and crushing it, integrating its bones, flesh, and mass into his body and becoming bigger. While the four were tired from the continuous fighting, they were still able to understand that this was a very bad thing.

While Jubstacheit had been getting slowly weaker the more Shirou and Rin attacked him, he seemed to regain his strength and speed after devouring the Einsbern. He went for another one, but this time, they were prepared, attempting to cripple Jubstacheit by attacking his wing, grounding him. But all he did was caw in annoyance before sending tendrils at them, slightly more numerous than before. Then, he took off and devoured that Einsbern, becoming more developed and stronger.

And it continued until, of the twenty Einsberns there were, only five remained, and Jubstacheit went from looking like a bloody, decomposed mockery of a bird to being almost entirely covered in pale, white flesh, his 'feathers' now more numerous, and his speed and strength much greater than before.

When he had consolidated this strength, he then began his true assault on the quartet. He began with Shirou. With a squawk, he flew towards Shirou, using his now numerous tendrils to block any shots coming from Rin, and swung some tendrils at Shirou. They were all coming from his right side, so he dodged to the left, only to be surprised by one of the tendrils Jubstacheit had kept out of combat coming right at him, striking him in the gut and sending him away.

Before the others could respond, Jubstacheit landed in between the three left standing and twirled, knocking Rin and Saber off their feet while Berserker only stumbled. Now with an opportunity, Berserker planted his feet and brought down his God Arc on Jubstacheit's tail, pinning it.

With a roar, he planted his feet on Jubstacheit's tail before launching himself, his sword in hand, and used one of his other Oracle Abilities. As opposed to Shirou's Caladbolg, Saber's Excalibur Strike, and Lancer's Gae Bolg, Berserker's Oracle attack was a combo. He called it...

"Nine Lives!"

In an instant, red lines of Oracle Energy worked up his arm as he suddenly began swinging his sword, fast enough that it was barely visible. It was only a moment, but nine slashes had been dealt, each at a vital point on Jubstacheit's form. His wing-joints, his neck, his brain, his rump, his flanks, and two criss-crossing strikes on his abdomen, estimatedly around where his heart could be.

When Berserker landed from his attack, on top of Jubstacheit, he reviewed his own attack. He was rusty from not having used the skill in a long time. After all, back when he was younger, he could deal a hundred more effective blows in the same time. The secret behind his technique was that it wasn't his God Arc itself that was cutting the enemy, if anything it merely grazed them. It was the blades formed of Oracle Energy being released after each strike that cut his enemies to pieces.

So, as Jubstacheit fell apart into more pieces, Berserker moved to get off of him, only to be struck from behind by more tendrils. Since he wasn't paying attention, too sure in the fact that Nine Lives was an instant kill, he was launched away, his God Arc going in Shirou's direction.

Shirou, who had until that point been getting over being sent flying and staring at Berserker's attack in awe, made to stand up, only for some of the tendrils Jubstacheit still had attached to impale him, sticking him to the wall. Grunting at the pain in his stomach, right next to the earlier wound, and in his left leg, Shirou looked to his God Arcs, which had also been flung away from him. Reaching out, he tried to pull his God Arcs to him, only for them to move a little then stop due to his lack of Oracle Energy.

Rin was in a daze, being the member of the group with the lowest Endurance, barely conscious, while Saber had also gotten up, but was hit by Berserker's falling form. As the remaining Einsbern's began to approach the undefended quartet, some more tendrils burst from Jubstacheit and devoured them, using the energy he gained to pull his body back together.

Once more on his feet, he surveyed his enemies. Kiritsugu's boy was pinned to the wall, the girl with black hair was unconscious, while the blonde one was indisposed. As a precaution, Jubstacheit decided to pin her to the floor too. The only threat he had to face was the hulking giant. But without a weapon, even he wouldn't be able to do much damage.

With a confident ruffle of his 'wings', Jubstacheit made to end Berserker, aiming all of the tendrils not currently impaling someone at him. With a growl, Berserker looked for a possible solution to the situation, only to come up empty. While it wasn't the first time he faced impossible odds, this time he felt his trump card would be the end of him. Even though there was still Oracle stored in his heart, he didn't have as much faith in it as usual.

With another growl, he began to let his mind sink into madness.

* * *

Shirou was watching, pinned to the wall with his God Arcs out of hand. He couldn't fight. He couldn't even get up. He was useless. All he could do was watch. But seeing Berserker growl, seeing the red lines of Oracle spread up his arms, Shirou couldn't help but feel dread. He knew. He wasn't sure how, but he knew. Berserker seemed to know too, seemed to accept it, and that set Shirou's mind ablaze.

Why is he still fighting, even if he knew it was a lost cause? Why would he put his life on the line, knowing it was already forfeit? Shirou couldn't understand. But a part of him did. The part that had bloomed the greenery of life, of achieving something that can be, of living for something he can do. That part of him knew, and could see how hypocritical Shirou was being, the desert in his heart preventing him from understanding.

Shirou just wanted to help, to be able to save someone, someone he cares about, someone _Illya _cares about. He wanted to save everyone. He didn't want to watch someone else die, because he couldn't save them. It was in these thoughts that Shirou felt a twitch at the edge of his senses.

It was foreign, and it was prodding, trying to grab his attention. When he did, the foreign feeling, the entity, began to speak. Its voice was rusty, as if it hadn't spoke in a long time. Beyond this, the voice seemed to have no recognisable characteristics. No gender, no age, just rust and a sadness.

Shirou wasn't able to understand its words, but felt a pulling sensation on his vision, dragging his eyes to the right. And there, standing solemnly, was Berserker's Nameless God Arc in all its jagged glory. When he saw it, the voice became clearer, and he understood what it said.

"_Pick me up. He needs his weapon, so pick me up_."

Shirou would have wondered more on the trustworthiness of the voice if he had a bit more blood and a bit less self-loathing. Without thought he stretched his hand out, reaching for the God Arc. He was just a few centimetres too far away to reach. So he dragged himself, even as the tendrils tore further into him. He dragged and tore until his outstretched fingers surrounded the God Arc's handle. With a breath, he grabbed the handle.

_And was brought into the infinite plain of blades. He was sat atop the hill, his back against Unlimited Blade Works, and in his hand was Berserker's God Arc. But before him, on that hill, was not Archer with his red cloak, but was instead a shifting figure, more similar to a living shadow._

_Shirou looked at the figure in confusion. Why was he pulled in here? How did the God Arc talk to him despite no connection being formed? Before he could voice any of this, the figure spoke._

_"Sympathize with me. Please. It might be the only way for you to save my wielder."_

_With that, the figure offered their hand, giving Shirou direct access to their core rather than having to coax it out of them like with Excalibur._ _With a deep breath, Shirou took the figure's hand and entered its core. _

* * *

The God Arc had been forged as a replacement, using pieces of the original God Arc as a base. The original God Arc had a name, a grand one meant to inspire hope. But the name was forgotten over time, along with its wielder's own. It was regarded as a tool, both by its creators and its wielder, yet it couldn't help but connect to its wielder.

Its wielder was apart of an experiment for Prototype God Eaters, named Servants, and had been given the designation Berserker. The reformed God Arc was a Buster Blade, with a black handle and a stone grey blade, jagged on the blade's edge.

* * *

The first time the God Arc had been held by its wielder was just after its creation. Its wielder appeared the same as he did in the present, just with less muscle tone and paler skin. He took the God Arc in hand and began to swing it, getting a feel for its weight.

Immediately after a few test swings, Berserker opted to go on a mission to eliminate Aragami. When asked whether he wanted assistance, he declined, believing his God Arc would be more than enough.

* * *

The first time the God Arc tasted the blood of its enemies, it had easily felled a Vajra in a single blow. Without Oracle, or any true killing intent, Berserker swiped his God Arc against the Vajra's pounce and split it in twine. But Berserker was not satisfied. He wanted to grasp a better understanding of the God Arc, and how he should wield it. So he walked on, and began to slaughter more and more Aragami until he was satisfied.

* * *

The first time the God Arc felt something beyond the leftover feelings from its previous incarnation as a God Arc, its wielder had committed an atrocity.

It had started out as a normal day. Berserker was requested to go out to fight some more Aragami. Specifically, a Deusphage Aragami, a new type of Aragami in Greece.

The Deusphage had been sighted before in other countries, and had been named Zeus. He was chosen because he was the strongest God Eater in the Boeotia Branch, but likely also because of the irony given his name.

Normally, on tough missions such as these, he would have gone with his usual teammates, Medea, Atalanta, and Jason, but they were all busy with their own missions. So instead, he went with his closest partner, the person he loved with all his heart. His wife, Megara. The two had been put on many missions together, and had begun to grow closer. Eventually, they fell in love. And that love served as a strength to Berserker.

They had arrived in a grassy plain that seemed to stretch on and on. Floating about the plain was the Zeus, looking like a black Sariel with purple Oracle Energy as opposed to yellow. Berserker had never been a good match up with Sariels, due to their flighty manoeuvres and their area-wide attacks against any who got too close. If the reports from the other Branches was any good, then the Zeus' were quicker and stronger than Sariels. Luckily, Megara was more suited to Sariels, being a ranged God Eater and all.

So, they engaged Zeus, and fought and fought, until victory was eventually within their grasp. Then it all came falling down. Suddenly, from under the ground, another Aragami appeared. It was a Venus, and it devoured the weakened Zeus. With a roar, its body shuddered, before becoming larger and seemingly more powerful.

In the next moment, the Venus charged for Megara, and Berserker saw red. Without a thought, he used Madness Enhancement, and began to rip apart the Venus. While it wasn't the first time he had used Madness Enhancement, his skin being a shade now comparable to ash testifying that, he had never used it with such raw anger before. So as he tore apart the Venus, he was torn apart too, his ash-grey skin turning darker.

He kept stabbing and slicing and ripping, and whenever the Venus tried to attack him, whether it was with its horns or its various Aragami attacks, Berserker merely held out his hand, caught the attack, then sliced the offending limb apart. Over and over and over, he kept stabbing and slashing and ripping and ripping and ripping, until his God Arc was covered in blood and his vision disappeared, and he kept ripping and ripping and ripping and ripping and ripping--

Until, with a solitary click, his heart was blown out by an Oracle Bullet. As the Oracle Energy in his heart healed his body and his mental state, he looked down to see Megara's God Arc pointed at his chest, with her hand over the trigger and shaking. Before he could ask why, his vision drifted lower. Her body... Her body was...

Her body was torn apart. It was a miracle she was even still alive, let alone able to function. While her heart was intact, her chest cavity had been exposed, and her midsection torn off. He looked and looked, and looked to his God Arc, then looked back, and couldn't deny the truth he had created.

That he... That he had...

That he had, in his madness, slaughtered his wife.

With a deep sense of sorrow, he dropped his bloodstained God Arc and knelt down to Megara, reaching to cradle her before hesitating at the copious amount of blood - _her _blood - on his hands. As he closed his eyes, and felt a stinging sensation in them, he suddenly felt a smooth, but cold, object touching his skin.

Opening his eyes, he saw Megara, still somehow alive, looking at him with eyes full of love, despite the awful crime he had just committed. Then, with one final whisper, she said his name, one last time.

"H...r...es..."

As the light faded from her eyes, and her hand fell from his face, Berserker released a roar of such grief that it shook even the heavens themselves. At least, if this world even had such a place.

* * *

The first time the God Arc felt hope, it had been over two decades since Megara's death. In that time, Berserker never forgave himself, and would always wander, never staying in one place, always pushing himself beyond his limits until his skin had turned lead-grey and he had become a giant.

But when Berserker had fought Shirou Emiya, and lost by default, he was brought to the Far East Branch and met many people. But the one that stood out in his mind was Illyasviel von Einsbern. In terms of appearance, they were totally opposite, as well as in personality. But it was Illya's straightforward attitude that drew Berserker's attention. That and how her young eyes seemed to hide a deep pain.

So, as the him of the past would have done long ago, he stuck with her, tried to make her happy and forget about whatever was haunting her, at least for a moment. Eventually, in Berserker's heart, his bond with Illya became what could have been. Without meaning to, Illya had become something like... a daughter to him. Like the daughter he never had.

While part of him wanted to run, to not one day hurt this person he cares about, another, larger, part of him wanted to stay by her side, to watch her grow and survive. It was that desire that gave him hope. Hope to find something to live for.

* * *

The first time the God Arc felt desperation, true desparation, it had been separated from Berserker by Jubstacheit. It was flung away, and could only watch as its wielder began to give in to madness. Could only watch as his life came to an end. But it knew, it knew it had to be there, by its wielder's side, by its partner's side. It didn't belong anywhere else.

With that desperation, it searched for a way to reach him, before spying Shirou Emiya, pinned to the wall. Ever since Berserker had fought Shirou, the God Arc knew there was something odd about the boy. When it first struck Unlimited Blade Works, it was shown a glimpse of a whole other world, a plain of blades. One of the things it saw was a perfect replica of itself within, along with many other blades.

After that, the God Arc realized that Shirou must have some form of connection with other God Arcs. So it reached out to him. And he responded.

Then, they connected.

* * *

_Once more in the plain of blades, Shirou looked up to the shadowy figure, only to see that they now had more of a form. Instead of just shadow, the figure now wore a black cloak that obscured all of their body, revealing nothing.__With a slight bow, the figure asked,__"Please, reach my wielder. I know that you're the only one who can."_

_Shirou looked at the figure, who know had a distinctly feminine voice, more similar to a snarky older woman._

_"Of course. But why did you have to..."_

_"That is because, if I didn't, then you wouldn't be able to understand him. You wouldn't understand his motivation. And you wouldn't understand how you can save him._"

_At this, Shirou looked confused. Save him? How could he save him? They both had the feeling that he would die, so how? As he went to ask, the figure answered his question._

_"Saving someone doesn't always mean keeping them from death. Sometimes, it can mean reminding someone of something important, something that should never be forgotten."_

_With a delicate chuckle, a stray wind seemed to blow through the infinite desert and shifted the figure's robes. The hood moved slightly, and revealed the smooth Caucasian skin of the figure's chin, and a strand of auburn hair hanging next to it._

"_Call for him. Remember, his name is..." _

* * *

"Heracles!"

The proclamation echoed throughout the courtyard. Berserker and Jubstacheit, the two other people still conscious, looked over to Shirou. While he was still pinned to the wall, he had assumed a kneeling stance, the impaled leg being the one he was leaning on. Jubstacheit had felt him shuffling, but didn't think he would be able to do anything. And above Shirou's head, held in both hands, was Berserker's God Arc, held parallel to the ground.

"Take it!"

Twisting his body slightly, and tearing wider holes in himself in the process, Shirou swung himself back around, throwing Berserker's God Arc to him. As the God Arc neared Berserker, his mind was racing. Heracles. Heracles. He knew that name. He knew that name, because it was a name he had known ever since he was born. It was _his _name.

In an instant, his mind was drawn back to that day. As her hand laid upon his face, and she said, with eyes full of love, his name.

"My name... My name is... My name is Heracles! Carve it into your soul, and never forget it!"

With a roar, Berserker, no, Heracles, caught his God Arc and continued using Madness Enhancement. But something had changed. Instead of exuding a feeling of resignation, he was now exuding relief, as if he no longer had to worry about something. The red veins worked their way up his right arm, covering his entire body and turning both of his eyes red.

With another roar, he engaged Jubstacheit. He did not deal nine fatal blows in an instant. Nor did he deal a hundred. His blows were not assisted with a blade of Oracle Energy. But he kept swinging and chopping and ripping. Every blow he dealt tore Jubstacheit apart, and he was injured in turn, a tendril tearing through him, trying to stop his constant assault.

As he fought, as he was torn apart and tore apart in turn, his lead-grey skin had begun to darken, spreading from his wrist upward. Eventually, his skin had turned black, deeper than midnight, contrasting strongly with the glowing red lines running all over his body. The battle wore on so long, Jubstacheit had to take his tendrils out of Shirou and Saber to continue attacking Heracles.

Eventually, it came to an end. Heracles, still mad, stopped moving. For before him, Jubstacheit von Einsbern laid dead. He knew it in his soul, in what was left of his mind. He had won. Slowly, Jubstacheit's body began to vanish, beginning at the chest and working its way up, until it eventually reached the many various tendrils piercing Heracles, in his arms, his legs, and around his chest. As they faded, the bleeding wounds from the tendrils began to pour blood, no longer being plugged.

Then, he slowly fell to his knees, his God Arc falling from his hands. Shirou, who had been watching in awe at the battle, quickly stood up and, after getting over the quick dizzy spell, moved to the wounded Heracles. On the way, he picked up Kanshou, and then keeled next to Heracles, putting his free hand on his shoulder and pushing Kanshou through his heart.

Heracles' body began to heal, the wounds closing slowly, dreadfully slowly, before suddenly coming to a stop, the wounds still open and bleeding. Groaning, Heracles opened his eyes, and looked to Shirou.

"Shirou... You said... my name..."

Leaving Kanshou within Heracles, Shirou looked into his eyes with concern.

"Heracles... Yeah, I did. I figured it would be nice to know, you know?"

"Yeah... Yeah, it is nice... I feel... content... Thank you... Shirou..."

Then, slowly, Heracles smiled a familiar smile. One Shirou had seen a long time ago, within a world of flames. It was the smile of one who had been saved.

"Yeah... Don't worry about it."

A silence spread between the two, before Hercules said,

"Hey, Shirou... I don't think... I'm gonna make it... The Oracle around my heart... It's all gone... Must've been used up earlier..."

At that, Shirou's fear was confirmed. And then he felt torn. Torn between the sorrow of Heracles' death, of not being able to save his life, and the satisfaction of being able to _save _him, letting him pass on in peace. Torn between an eternal desert and a grassy field.

With a sigh, Heracles closed his eyes and muttered out,

"Thank you, Shirou... Illya..."

Shirou knelt by his side for another minute, before slowly standing and slowly shuffling away. He shuffled, going around the courtyard to the entrance of the castle. Making his way inside, he continued shuffling until he reached Jubstacheit's office. There, in the same chair as earlier, was Illya, still asleep. Going over, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before picking her up in a princess carry. Then he radioed for Sakaki before making his way back outside to the others.

For on that day, Heracles had passed. And so too had the Operation dubbed 'Family's Pride; Black and White'.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, sorry for taking so long. School be like that sometimes, huh? Honestly, I feel this doesn't live up to the hype of the last two chapters, or even of the Zouken fight. Sure, it's longer, but it just feels less, ya know? I don't know. Do you guys still like this? I hope you do. It'll probably take me a bit to know what to do next. Probably a little epilogue of the Operation. **

**First, Jubstacheit's Aragami form was loosely based off of the Storch Ritter CE. For those that don't play F/GO, It's the birds Illya made out of her own hair.**

**Second, without realizing, Jubstacheit shifted from Resident Evil monster, to actually a Resident Evil monster that refuses to die, to a Prototype protagonist in terms of appearance and ability. Crazy.**

**Third, the God Arc scene. I feel that it also doesn't live up to the hype of Excalibur, but it's alright. With those, I'm trying a thing I've seen in some other Fate/Stay Night Fanfictions. A particular example would be Fake x Fate, a Fate crossover with Highschool DxD, and how, when Shirou Analyses a new weapon, or Traces a cool one, it has the 7 steps of Tracing and a description for each part. It's fucking cool. So that's what I'm trying, just very differently.**

**Thank you to hallowstorm and GaeAssail for following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 5647**


	34. The Way A Sword Sharpens And Rusts

Slowly, Shirou opened his eyes, the sunlight filtering in from his window waking him. As he pushed himself up so he was sitting, his mind focused on the dream he had, on the memories he was reliving. After Heracles, or Berserker as he preferred to call him, died, things had changed, somewhat.

The greatest change was in Shirou's own attitude. To most, it wouldn't seem odd. Even to those that know him best, it wouldn't be strange. He mourned Berserker's passing. Don't get it twisted, he mourned when Kiritsugu died, as well as when Shinji did. What was odd was how it stuck with him.

Not as an idol, the living manifestation of his ideal, his dream. Nor as a reminder of his own failure to achieve that dream. But as someone to aspire to. A goal to be reached, a mountain to be climbed. A sign of strength. A... friend.

But Berserker's death didn't just affect him. Illya, who was arguably closer to the man, was left mourning for a long time after. While she would normally play it off with a smile, she would normally quiet when she thought no one was looking, taking a blank expression. In that way, Shirou's recent reminiscing about their father seemed to help her.

Getting out of bed and putting on his combat outfit, Shirou quickly glanced in the mirror. Over the year since Berserker's passing, Shirou's appearance has only inched closer and closer to Archer's own. After using Berserker's God Arc, the Erosion spread down his left leg and across his chest and face. While it wasn't as radical as his battle with Zouken, it was still a cause for alarm. Luckily, it wasn't the lethal iteration of the Erosion that burnt him through and through, but instead one that eroded just his skin.

After that, it was only in small, barely noticeable increments that more of his body underwent Erosion. Now, it covered his entire lower-body, as well as most of his chest and back. Only half of his face and hair had changed, leaving some of his red hair, and his golden eye stayed unchanged. From the Armlet on his right arm, his wrist had begun to erode as well, but his fingers and upper arm were still their original tone.

Looking away from the mirror, Shirou made his way out of the room, letting himself be distracted by the stray thoughts. Over time, he has grown closer and closer in appearance to Archer, even growing as tall as him, almost 20 centimetres. It never really bothered Shirou, that he was slowly becoming a clone of someone else. If anything, he was bothered by Archer's appearance.

His slicked-back white hair, his tan skin, his smirk, and his red coat. All of them were things he had seen long before he ever met Archer personally. His earliest memory, after the fire, in the hospital when he met Kiritsugu. He was asked for his name, and he came up empty, when his mind flashed to who is now identifiable as Archer. It was his stark-white hair that gave Shirou his name, after all.

If Archer had been with him, even back then when he only just got his Armlet, before his God Arc was even requisitioned, then why was his appearance so bizarre? As far as Shirou had seen, God Arcs seemed to take forms that were of importance to the wielder. If that's the case, why was Archer just an older him? How was he even formed so early?

These questions, which Shirou only considered when he wanted to be distracted, buzzed around Shirou's head as he left the elevator. Walking towards Hibari, he put his thoughts aside and asked for a mission. Luckily, there was one mission available. It was set in the City of Mercy, with the opposing Aragami being a single Vajra.

With a quick thank you to Hibari, Shirou made his way into the God Arc Storage Bay. Within, he quickly made his way over to his partner, Unlimited Blade Works. They themselves hadn't changed much in the year since Berserker's passing. The only difference would be on the topic of the general enhancements the God Arc had received, the blades and bow being reforged and the shield being reprogrammed for higher efficiency.

As he unlocked his God Arc's containment unit and took Unlimited Blade Works into his hands, a slight thought nagged at him. Almost without meaning to, he turned to look at the back of the Storage Bay, his eyes naturally making their way to one of the many dust-covered God Arcs within a containment unit. It was a black and jagged Buster Blade, formerly belonging to Berserker. Like he did so often after Berserker's death, he slowly made his way over, drinking in the appearance of the God Arc.

Once in front of it, Shirou lay down Bakuya and, slowly, extended his right hand towards the Buster Blade. Laying his palm upon it, Shirou waited for something. Anything. But nothing happened. Don't misunderstand. The God Arc was still alive, at least as far as the actual Aragami core goes. If used, it could still cut and devour Aragami. But it no longer contained that higher functioning part of itself, the heart that could relate to its wielder.

It was actually quite awkward when it came up. After the Einsbern incident, as Shirou and co. were leaving the Port with the deceased Berserker and his God Arc in tow, Shirou was struck dumb by the lack of response he felt from Berserker's God Arc. For a moment he thought it had somehow died, despite him being taught that God Arcs don't die if their wielders die. But he was then able to feel the thrum of Oracle within, revealing signs of life. Yet no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find that manifestation of the God Arc anywhere.

The group that Sakaki had sent to help them return to the Den were surprised at the sight of Shirou holding Berserker's God Arc, especially seeing as it wasn't obviously broken and dead. After some inquiry, Shirou revealed that he could wield other people's God Arcs, albeit at a cost. Turns out, that was never included in the report submitted for the Zouken incident, which lead to a long talk with Sakaki about it, and the process involved. There were later experiments involving taking measurements of Shirou's vitals as he sympathized with both a familiar God Arc (Excalibur) and a foreign God Arc (Rin's Jeweled Sword).

Shaking his head so as not to fall deeper into thought, Shirou grabbed Bakuya and made his way out of the Den, towards his pick up location.

* * *

Waiting at the little drop-off point he normally began his missions, Shirou allowed himself to ponder on his earlier thoughts. When was Archer formed? Why was he formed as he is? Shirou knew he could just ask, but that would deprive him of one of his easily accessible distractions. His hair, his clothes, even his general form and name was known to Shirou before the two met in person. Almost like magic.

**Crackle**.

Without any sign of surprise, Shirou raised his hand to his earpiece.

"Where is it Hibari?"

Not reacting to his sterner tone of voice, she answered,

"It should be appearing at Point M any moment now. Good luck."

With a grunt, Shirou took his hand off of the earpiece and grabbed his God Arcs. Hoisting them upwards, Shirou took a few steps back before jumping off of the small cliff, letting out a more subdued,

"Trace On."

Touching down on the dirt of the destroyed church clearing below, Shirou turned to the left and made his way forward. Very quickly, he saw the Vajra moving towards the dirt clearing in Point C, in Shirou's direction. Entering the clearing, Shirou quickly changed his God Arcs to Bow Form and let off a single shot forwards the Vajra. Striking its head, the Vajra roared in pain and anger before rushing to intercept Shirou.

It began the battle with a roar, channeling its Oracle into spheres of electricity that it launched towards Shirou. As Shirou, who had returned his God Arc to Blade Form, dodged around the targeted spheres, the Vajra leapt towards him, trying to take him down while he was distracted. Shirou, seeing the attack, dodged away from the expected strike zone. As the Vajra landed, Shirou ran right towards it. Nearing its fore-legs, Shirou released a basic combo.

A diagonal strike with Bakuya, a horizontal one with Kanshou, and a final pierce from both lead to the leg Shirou was targeting, the left one, to collapse, the bond almost breaking. With the Vajra now stunned, Shirou moved toward the head and began to unleash a flurry of strikes upon it. A slash to the left, another to the right, a cross-slash leading upwards, then a sudden downward thrust of the blades, digging into the Vajra's head.

But as Shirou's blades fell upon the Aragami, the Vajra was able to push past its almost broken limb and forced itself upwards, causing Shirou's final strike to fall short. With a roar, the Vajra swung out with its right, uninjured hand, batting Shirou further into the dirt clearing. Rolling, Shirou landed onto his feet, facing the Vajra which slowly turned to face him. Taking in his surroundings, Shirou realized that now was a good time to try and develop _that _move. He and his opponent were in a wide clearing, with almost nothing to get in the way. If the Vajra moved forward, it would be perfect.

For once luckily for Shirou, the Vajra began to move towards him, despite the pain it was clearly in. Raising his arms in a cross, Shirou waited for the perfect moment to strike. It was then, as the Vajra was almost a meter away from him, that he enacted his plan.

Over the year since Berserker's death, sympathizing with God Arcs weren't the only experiments Shirou underwent. He also experimented with his ability to channel Oracle energy through his blades. He found himself to be capable, and even capable of excelling at, enhancing his strikes with Oracle. The only limitation of this is Unlimited Blade Works' ability to handle the Oracle without shattering. As the God Arc was upgraded, the amount he could safely channel had increased.

But the more important thing was his ability to release that Oracle energy in bursts, like Saber's Excalibur Strikes, or even his own Caladbolg. He learned how to apply the concept of his ranged attacks to his Blade Form via practice and asking Saber for advice. While he couldn't produce large slashes like Saber, he was capable of making dense blades of Oracle which he could send flying.

The attack he was about to enact was inspired by the attack Berserker used on Jubstacheit, Nine Lives. It takes the efficiency of Nine Lives deadly strikes, and combines it with Shirou's own combat style of drawing the enemy into his pace. But the centrepiece of the attack was Shirou's use of the aforementioned Oracle blades he creates.

Shirou closed his eyes and felt for the flow of Oracle within him. Tracing it, from his Armlets to his heart, he directed that flow towards his God Arcs, feeling as they were filled and seemed to strain against the influx of energy. The screams of a year past had reduced to groaning from the Arcs.

Opening his eyes, he flung out his God Arcs and, in the same instant, released the pent up Oracle energy as two neon-green blades, arcing towards the oncoming Vajra. As the Oracle blades sliced through the Vajra's face and shoulders, halting the Vajra in its charge, Shirou's mind was brought back to the words Shirou had read only recently.

_Spirit and technique, flawless and firm_

It was a gift he had received from Sakaki, a 'learning guide' he called it. After he was made aware of Shirou's interest in various mythologies and their heroes, he occasionally supplied him books or poems about those legends. The one he received had been about the blades Kanshou and Bakuya were based on, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

Specifically, it was a page out of what was likely a textbook on Chinese history and mythology. The page detailed the emperor's perspective on everything, from ordering blades be made, to receiving only Gan Jiang, or Kanshou, and realizing that Mo Ye was withheld from him. What stuck out most to Shirou was mention of an engraving on Gan Jiang's hilt, and the addition that it was likely only half of the poem, with the other half being on Mo Ye. Unfortunately, the rest of the page was illegible. That engraving was what Shirou was mentally reciting.

As the Vajra stalled from Shirou's attack, Shirou followed up by stepping forward, within strike range, and bringing down both his God Arcs in a cross, taking out the Vajra's eyes. As the Vajra flinched back, Shirou brought his blades back up into a ready position. The Vajra had enough time to shake its head and wonder at the lack of a follow-up before it barely caught the sound of whistling.

Suddenly, it felt pain cut through both of its side at once, a deep slash in the left side of its neck and a less deep but more debilitating strike to its right leg, causing the bonds within to break and the Vajra to collapse. It was another beat before the same seemed to happen to its other side, a deep cut to the right side of the neck and a shallow one to the left leg.

Of course, Shirou was able to see what truly occurred. As the Vajra seemed to hear the whistling of the Oracle blades, one of them came from behind and impaled its right leg. In sync with that, Shirou brought Kanshou deep into the Vajra's neck and more of the engraving came to his mind.

_Our strength rips the mountains_

The same applied in the next moment, with the other Oracle blade impaling the Vajra's left leg and Shirou bring Bakuya down on the neck. However, instead of knowing the next line of the engraving which wasn't in the page, Shirou thought on what he felt would have been there.

_Our swords split the water_

As the Vajra lay on the floor, now bordering on death, Shirou raised both of his God Arcs and, yet again, channeled Oracle into them. This was, however, the most difficult part of the attack. No matter how many times Shirou tried, he could never properly conduct the next step. It was this part that took the most inspiration from Nine Lives. Instead of releasing a blade of Oracle from his God Arc, he was trying to enhance the strike radius, and therefore the damage, of his God Arc.

It was, however, several magnitudes harder for him to create a constant extension to his God Arcs than it was to create an Oracle blade to expel from his God Arcs. As he stood there, arms crossed and with an expression of pure concentration, a slight flickering could be seen above his Arcs. It was slight, but it was there, neon-green and unstable. Slowly, ever so slowly, Shirou channeled Oracle up and out of his God Arcs and held them in place until, eventually, his Arcs were topped by shimmering neon green blades that made the Biting Edge God Arcs more in line with the size of a Long Blade.

Now breathing a little heavily after the exercise which took a few seconds, but felt like minutes to him, Shirou looked down upon the Vajra and raised his arms a little higher, before bringing down his God Arcs.

_Our voices..._

As he did, however, he felt the Oracle atop his God Arcs become more unstable, losing all cohesion. Suddenly, as his God Arcs struck the Vajra, the Oracle blades exploded, destroying the Vajra's head and sending Shirou flying.

It was at the last moment that Shirou separated the Oracle blades from his God Arcs, allowing them to remain wholly undamaged. Standing from his little tumble, Shirou looked upon the fallen Vajra before sighing.

"So close...," he muttered to himself. Moving towards the Vajra, he began to Devour it, before preparing to leave the field.

* * *

As he returned to the Den, he subconsciously began to trace his way towards Sakaki's Office, and Illya's room by proxy. It was only after he exited the elevator on the Laboratory Floor that he realized what he was doing.

He began to hesitate. Should he go in and visit Illya, while he might still be upset about her condition, and make her upset in kind? Or should he leave, break the promise that he made to himself to visit Illya as often as possible, and leave her lonely?

As the decision made him struggle, his choice was made for him by the sudden opening of Sakaki's door, showing Shirou...

"Shirou!"

Sakaki, standing slightly hunched over and as close to panicking as the boy had ever seen him. In his hand was a tablet with various nondescript data readings on it.

"...Yes, Professor?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading this big ol' rewrite. I just didn't like how the original version sat with me.** **Sorry for taking almost a month to upload, but I should be able to get back into the groove now, but it'll probably take me half a week to a week to release another (decent length) chapter. Reasons for my lateness include enjoying having free time to play games again, and fear of rejection.**

**I will finish this story, even if it kills me.**

**Thank you to Dante Fernandez, Leon38532, Straider, and 28th00 for favouriting or following, and thank you to sawtooth44 again and Guest for reviewing.**

**P.S. I don't have any hard feelings, Guest. If anything, your words really gave me an eye opener. I knew this story wasn't great, but I didn't want it to be bad either. So I took a break, reread my story, and _might _be able to improve from there. I will finish this story, don't worry. And maybe make another abomination.****Thanks.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****2875**


	35. The Truth Come Out Does Kerry Is Evil?

**Quick note: If you haven't, you should reread the last chapter because I rewrote it. Yes it's important, because I set up for something completely different in that chapter compared to what it was originally. Don't worry if you read it after the 15th of November.**

* * *

It was with hurried shuffling that Sakaki moved back to his desk and took a seat. With a confused, and slightly worried, look on his face, Shirou followed suit, taking a seat and waiting for Sakaki to begin.

It actually took a minute or two, with Sakaki shuffling his notes (read: flicking to various pages on his tablet) and occasionally taking his glasses off and breathing deeply. When Shirou felt Sakaki was calm enough, he asked the main question that was on his mind.

"Professor Sakaki... Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Hearing Shirou, Sakaki's head snapped up, before he, with one final exhale, calmed down and began to speak.

"I'm... I'm fine. Physically, at least. All 206 bones in my body are in fine condition for a man my age-- except for my back, that is. Did you know that the main cause of back pain in people my age is because of the loss of the back muscles' elasticity over the years? I found that quite interesting. Did you also know--"

"Professor."

Having had his rant interrupted, Sakaki looked at Shirou in surprise before taking his glasses off, rubbing his eyes, and sighing.

"Ah... Sorry about that. What was the question? Am I okay? Quite honestly... I'm not doing too great. Oh! But it's not because of anything to do with my health! As I said, I am doing quite fine for my age and--"

"Ahem."

"Right, sorry. I'm not doing fine because of certain readings that we had picked up which worried me greatly."

Shirou thought. What could possibly worry Sakaki so badly that he lost his wits? Sakaki, who had been the Director of the Far East Branch for over 10 years, and dealt with legendary, world-ending manmade Aragami like the Arda Nova, the Arius Nova, the World Opener, and the World Closer. He asked as much.

"Well... It was actually a familiar reading. One that left a disaster in its wake. But, the reading was there for merely an instant, so it was likely nothing like the original. However, I should still send out some God Eaters to investigate it."

"Okay... but still, what could have possibly scared you so bad at just the trace of it? Was it a Nova?"

With another deep breath, and a dry chuckle, Sakaki answered.

"Shirou... No, it wasn't another Nova. Nor was it one of Dr. Rachel's creations. It is in fact an Aragami you are quite familiar with. After all, it did cause the fire that killed everything you cared about."

Those words caused Shirou to go numb. He couldn't feel, couldn't think, couldn't understand. The only thing that managed to escape him was a quiet 'what?'.

* * *

It was a few days later when they finally decided to confront Shirou. After all, he had been worrying them a lot recently. It was small at first, just him going silent randomly in conversation. Then it just exponentially grew from there. Sometimes he wouldn't talk to them but would listen, sometimes he would just end up ignoring them altogether. Not just them, he ended up ignoring everyone.

Everyone became worried for the resident brownie, and so it came down to these three to get answers. As the trio walked up to his door, it was Saber who spoke up first.

"Rin... Are you sure this is the best course of action? I am sure that if we just ask him--"

"No, Saber! How many times have we tried that already? Too many, that's how many! The only way to get to the bottom of this is to get to him directly and aggressively! Right, Sakura?"

"E-Eh... I-I don't know Tohsa-- Rin. Are you really sure we should be invading Senpai's space like this?"

"Of course I do. Why else would this be my plan?"

"Yeah but, what if... What if... What if..."

Suddenly, Sakura's face began to turn red and her eyes became swirls.

"Hmm? What if what, Sakura?"

"W-W-W-What if... W-What if Senpai is... Whatifsenpaiisnaked!?"

Then, she squeaked and turned away from the other two girls. Unknown to her, Saber and Rin were looking at her in surprise, their faces going red. An awkward silence permeated before Rin decided to break it.

"A-Ahem. W-Well... that's just a risk we'll have to take."

Now it was Rin that was being stared at in surprise. Ignoring their stares, Rin slapped her cheeks before knocking on the door.

"Shirou!"

There was no reply. Knocking some more, Rin called out again.

"Shirou!"

Still no reply. Getting annoyed, Rin knocked on the door once more (read: punched the door) and yelled out.

"Shirou! I swear, if you don't open this door I will break it down and destroy you!"

And still, silence. With a cry of rage, Rin raised her leg before kicking at the door. Since it was a metal door it didn't break, but it wasn't unscathed either by the force of an angry God Eater, leaving it slightly dented in. With another cry, Rin kicked at it again, but with less force, seeming more content to just let out her anger rather than cause property damage.

As she did this, Saber and Sakura looked to each other before nodding their heads. Saber moved to Rin and half-heartedly held her back from destroying his door. Sakura, meanwhile, reached for the door's opening switch. While normally they would be locked, Sakura was willing to bet it wasn't. Shirou had a bad habit of not locking his doors in the years they knew each other.

As she pressed the button, she was proven correct by the door sliding open. As Rin lowered her foot with a disappointed huff, they all looked inside of the room, only to see Shirou standing in the middle of the room, not naked, his back facing them.

"Shirou?"

Yet again, only silence greeted them. Shirou stood still, as if he never even heard anything being said. With an anger now re-lit, Rin stomped into the room and up to the Shirou, reaching for his shoulder.

"Damn it Shirou! Stop ignoring me or so help me--"

"Wait."

It was Saber that called out. Rin, who was still on her way to grabbing Shirou, stopped, feeling as if something important might be gained by listening. There was also that slight fear instilled in her from upsetting Saber. She doesn't want to get kendo'd. As Rin stopped, Saber moved towards her and Shirou, before moving around them so she was facing Shirou. With a nod, she said aloud,

"As I thought."

Rin and Sakura just looked at her in confusion before actually voicing it. Saber heard their questions and gestured them over to where she was. Looking to each other, they acquiesced and went to her. As they did, they saw Shirou, and what they saw confused them. Specifically, it was the look in his eyes.

"What the...?"

It was Rin who had spoke, the confusion she was feeling forcing itself into words. While there was nothing wrong with Shirou's eyes structurally, both of them being the heterochromatic gold and steel he had been toting for a year, it was how his eyes were working that confused her. That is to say, they weren't.

Even though she and the other two were standing in front of him, his eyes didn't seem to even pick up on their presence. He couldn't see them. It wasn't just that. The way the light reflected on his eyes made them seem dull and unseeing, yet it was like he saw something beyond what was in front of him. Like an odd cross between a look of thoughtfulness and despair. Rin had heard of something like that in a book she read. It was...

"A thousand yard stare."

Rin's attention was drawn away from Shirou's eyes towards Sakura, who had spoken. She looked particularly saddened at her own words. Saber gave her a slight look of surprise.

"I am surprised. I was not expecting someone so young to know what one looked like. While many have heard the term, most have not actually seen an expression to compare it to. Most would likely associate it with a look of despair."

"Well... Shinji... Nii-san would often wear one back when we were under the... _care _of our Grandfather, before I was brought into his experiments."

At the mention of her older brother and her grandfather, the atmosphere became awkward. Saber and Rin never really got around to properly speaking of the events that took place, the most they would hear being her's and Shirou's lamentation on her brother.

It was with great effort that Saber coughed into her fist, ignoring the awkward atmosphere, and spoke.

"Y-Yes. It is normally those that are contemplating past events that are heavily tied to their hearts that would bear such an expression. But it would often appear on those who experienced such suffering a long time ago, long enough for it to no longer be fresh, but still retain meaning."

Rin and Sakura nodded along, no longer being stifled by the awkwardness. Instead, they were now full of curiosity and worry. After all, what could Shirou be so hung up on? While he was a God Eater, he hadn't experienced too much personal loss besides Berserker and Shinji. Could he possibly be reminiscing on his father? If that was the case, then why did he look so sad when he only ever mentioned his father being a good man.

There were too many possibilities, which just lead to the two becoming distracted. As they were, Saber decided to wake Shirou up. Reaching for his shoulder, Saber gave him a light squeeze (which for a God Eater is enough to crush a soda can) and called out to him.

"Shirou."

His awakening was gradual. First, his body tensed, before his hand reached for the hand on his shoulder and his eyes slowly began to focus. With swift movements he took Saber's hand off of his shoulder, and his eyes finally focused enough to actually take note of the trio in front of him. With a confused blink, he asked,

"Saber? Rin? Sakura? What are you all doing here?"

At once, the trio flinched back in surprise from Shirou suddenly saying their names. It was strange how him not properly talking to them for a few days could cause all of them to miss the sound of his voice so much. Shaking off the embarrassment, or at least most of it, Rin answered Shirou's question.

"W-We're here because _someone_ has been making everyone at the Den worry because of how quiet he has been lately. Not just that, but a certain pain in the neck has been missing her big brother lately."

"O-Oh... Sorry..."

Shirou looked away in shame. He had a feeling that he may have been neglecting everyone, but he has just been so distracted recently. After all, what Sakaki told him...

"Yeah, you better be! I was really worried abou-- I mean, _we _were really _concerned _for you. You haven't been talking to anyone or paying attention to anything at all! Just what has so much of your attention that you're barely aware of anything!?"

With that in the air, she looked at Shirou, expecting an answer. However, what she received was him looking away, a tightening around his eyes. His jaw locked, and his eyes seemed to become duller. With worry, Rin called out once more, gently.

"Shirou?"

A slight twitch was all she got as a reaction. As she began to move towards him, a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Instead, it was Sakura that moved forward, her purple hair swaying slightly. Directly in front of Shirou, she slowly brought her hand up towards his face, laying it against his cheek. With a deep breath, she spoke.

"Senpai... Please, tell us what's wrong."

At that, there was more of a reaction. His head turned slightly to face them, and his eyes became less dull. Seeing him react, Sakura took another breath before speaking again.

"We only want to help, Senpai. _I _want to help... Please."

As if her voice were a source of comfort, some of the tension in Shirou's body left. Then, his mouth began to open, and he began to speak, still not properly looking at any of them, or even being all there.

"Sakaki told me... 10 years ago... The fire... It wasn't just an Aragami attack... Kiritsugu... He and others... caused it all..."

That was all he said, his eyes seeming to revert back to their prior dullness. As he did, the trio made their own conclusions. All three knew about the fire ten years ago, but none of them were sure how Shirou related to it. Sakura had once been told by Taiga that the fire was of importance to Shirou, but never why. The assumption she made was that someone he cared for had passed away.

Alongside that was the mention of Kiritsugu. Saber, having known the man personally, immediately made the connection between him and the fire. After all, she was there that day. She remembered being with him on that day, how suddenly in the centre of the Outer Ghetto there was fire. She also remembered his expression, one of absolute despair. His expression and subsequent actions spoke volumes to her, and when she eventually got around to speaking to him about it a few hours later, once the flames died down, he gave her a short and simple answer.

"It's all because of me."

No matter how hard she tried, he would never give any other answer. She was soon sent back to Europe, nursing a hate for Kiritsugu, and one for herself, for not being able to help anyone.

The last thing that stood out was the mention of others. While Rin didn't know at all about the relationship between Shirou and the fire, nor did she know much about Kiritsugu, she was able to piece together how Shirou's father must have played some part in it, whether that was the fire itself or the Aragami. The fact that Sakaki was the one that told him made her suspicious, and she promised to go speak to him later. More importantly...

Shirou was standing there, still staring off into the distance, a thousand yards ahead. They all wanted to comfort the man, but didn't know how to. Instead, it was Sakura that made the first move. Moving her hand from his cheek, she brought both hands upwards to grasp his head and brought it down to her bosom, before gently wrapping her arms around his head in a hug.

"Senpai... It'll all be okay. So please, don't worry."

Saber and Rin were looking at her in shock, while Shirou himself, now hunched over, began to slightly shake, before bringing his own arms up to wrap around her. As he did, the sun seemed to shine through the window just right, bathing the four in a golden light.

* * *

Meanwhile, four God Eaters entered into a large open 'room' in the cavern they had been exploring. There was nothing of any real note, except for what seemed to be a path leading upwards towards a small plateau. As they all investigated the entire 'room', one of them, who wielded an orange Long Blade, moved his hand to his earpiece.

**Crackle**.

"Director, this is Cicada 1. We've reached the end of the cavern and haven't found any signs of the irregularity. All we have left is a slight alcove, then we can say for certain."

Cicada 1 heard a relieved sigh on the other end of the earpiece, before being ordered to report back once they were done and out of the cavern, or if they found something. Taking his hand off the earpiece, he looked around to see the other Cicadas giving him the all clear before one of them, someone wielding a blue Charge Spear, made his way up the path towards the alcove. However...

"Hoh? Who dares approach the King without permission?"

A person slowly walked into Cicada 1's field of view. A blonde man with crimson red eyes, wearing a black leather jacket over a white shirt with black jeans and shoes. And on his wrist was a steel-gray Armlet, similar in appearance to three bangles bolted together. Cicada 1 started at the sight.

"Are you a God Eater!? What are you doing here!? What Branch are you from!?"

The blonde man's eyes briefly flicked over to him, stunning him into silence.

"Did I ask for you to speak, mongrel?"

Looking back to the man with the Charge Spear, he eyed him up and down, before closing his eyes and nodding. Then suddenly, he began to laugh.

"Fuhahahahahahaha!!!"

It was an oddly charming laugh, yet only filled the ones that could hear it with dread. When he was done he swept his hair back, off of his face, and grinned towards them in a way that made all of their hearts stop.

"Truly, you are weak. Well, come on. If you are going to die anyway, then you may as well entertain me!"

After he said that, he looked upon them all expectantly. However, nobody moved, all of them being too stunned by his presence. This lack of action persisted for a few seconds before his grin disappeared.

"You mongrels... How dare you defy me, you King!?"

Suddenly, his crimson eyes shone. The next thing Cicada 1 heard was the sound of metal clanging on the floor, before something else seemed to follow suit. Slowly turning his head, his eyes took in the sight of the blue Charge Spear laying on the floor, and next to it...

"Kaito!!!"

Lying on the floor was the God Arc's wielder, appearing in perfect condition, except for the bloodstain over his heart, highlighting what appeared to be a thin incision that went straight through.

Cicada 1 couldn't react, could barely even understand what just happened. But someone else seemed to be able to.

"You bastard!"

Another Cicada, a girl with a pink Blaster God Arc, ran towards the blonde man and pulled her trigger, sending out three shots. The man, however, didn't seem perturbed, instead grinning slightly, as if in amusement. As the Oracle bullets neared him, they suddenly exploded, almost two feet away from him.

"Wha--"

Then, as suddenly as the Oracle bullets exploded, the girl coughed out blood and fell to the floor. This time, however, Cicada 1 was able to see something. It was like a flash of steel passed through her and went back towards the blonde man.

"Hoh~ She sure had a fire, now didn't she?"

Suddenly, the last member of the once four-member group fired at the blonde-man. They were another man, wielding a black Sniper. Just like with the girl, his Oracle bullet was blocked, but now that Cicada 1 was looking, he could see a steel blade hovering where the Oracle bullet was blocked. The steel blade then flew towards the Cicada. However, he seemed to notice the blade as well and rolled out of the way. The blade suddenly changed trajectory, flying straight towards him, but was blocked by the Cicada quickly flinging his God Arc between himself and the blade.

There was a brief glimmer of hope in Cicada 1's eyes, seeing that the strange blade was finally down. However, he saw another flash coming straight for the Cicada.

"Look out!"

But, he was too late. The second blade went straight through his throat, causing his head to almost tear off. As Cicada 1 stood there, shaking, the blonde man turned his gaze onto him.

"Hmph. You seem to be nothing like your fellow mongrels. Look at you, quivering in place with fear. Not at all a worthy kill for a King. Kirei!"

At the mention of another name, Cicada 1 turned to look behind him, only for his chest to explode in pain. Looking down, he saw...

A hand. No, a fist, covered in blood. His blood. It was a human fist, attached to a human arm, piercing straight through his chest. As he felt the comforting feeling of 'sleep' come for him, he could only choke out a single word.

"Sakaki..."

As he died, a silence persisted throughout the cavern, before the hand was ripped out of Cicada 1's body. Attached to the hand was an adult man, with a brown mullet, dull brown eyes, and wearing what appeared to be a priest's garments. He pulled a handkerchief out from one of his pockets and wiped off the blood before looking to the blonde man.

"So, My King. Did that satisfy you at all?"

"Hmph. Do not be foolish, Kirei. They were no match for the King of Heroes."

The blonde man looked at Kirei in slight anger, and Kirei knew that he should sidestep the topic. Instead, he decided to offer something to pacify him.

"They may have been no match, My King, but do not worry. Soon, you will be able to face a Beast that will give you a true challenge."

"Ha! As if any could truly make me struggle! But, since you seem to believe it is so strong, it may provide me entertainment for a while."

Looking to the various bodies, he then upturned his nose, before turning on his foot and calling over his back,

"Clean that up, Kirei. I do not need the smell of worthless mongrels to accompany me in this place."

Kirei looked to where Gilgamesh was, before looking back to the body by his feet. With efficient movements he hoisted the body onto his shoulder and began to make his way out of the cave, towards a place the temperamental King would not go. As he did, he couldn't help but think on the last thing he heard from the God Eater he had killed.

"Sakaki..."

Then, slowly, a smile that only showed the depths of his own depravity spread across his face, only magnified by his dead, brown eyes.

"Fenrir... Ha ha... I will see you again soon, Kiritsugu Emiya. Don't disappoint me this time."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, big plot plays, introduction and murder of four OCs that didn't matter, and most likely terrible writing on the part of Gilgamesh and Kirei. I'm betting money that it's mostly Kirei. I just couldn't remember how he spoke for the life of me.**

**First and only, I feel I put way too much emphasis on a thousand yard stare. It's probably not that uncommon, but I guess that's how the cookie crumbles.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****3694**


	36. It's Really Just A Backstory Dump

Sakaki looked down in worry upon the two-way radio he was using to communicate to Cicada Squad. He had been attempting to contact the squad leader for the past half hour, and only grew more and more worried the longer he went without a response. The only thing he heard was a static noise and the occasional shuffle, filling him with dread.

He went to try again, only for the radio to crackle. Realising that meant he was being contacted, Sakaki scooped up his headset before responding.

"Natsu! What has happened down there!? What has happened to the others!?"

All that answered back his frantic questioning was silence. But then...

"...Hahaha..."

A laugh started to resound. Quiet at first...

"Hahahahaha..."

But it began to grow in volume, and with it, Sakaki felt the dread that had temporarily receded return with a passion, as the laugh felt awfully familiar.

"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"

As the laughter reached a crescendo, so too did Sakaki's dread. Until suddenly, all went quiet. Then, a voice, deadpan, yet somehow capable of delivering a sense of sadistic amusement, spoke to Sakaki. He hated how familiar it was.

"Ah... Professor Sakaki. It has been a while since we had last met. How have you been? Still following your foolish ideal with Kiritsugu Emiya?"

Sakaki could barely respond, could barely think, because of the voice he was hearing. It was the voice of a ghost that he thought had been put to rest over 10 years ago. Mustering up what little he could, he was able to mutter out a name.

"K-Kotomine...?"

"Oh? My my, what has got the normally energetic 'Star Gazer' so quiet? Could it be the absence of a few... Cicadas, was it, from your Den?"

"B-But how? You died. I saw it."

"Oh? I died, did I now? Well, I can assure you, I am quite alive. In fact--"

Sakaki heard a loud voice on the other end of the radio, sounding upset. The voice quickly stopped, with a brief silence ensuing, before Kotomine continued to speak.

"Ah. Sorry about the interruption, but it appears as if I am required elsewhere. It has been good to speak to you again, Professor. I hope, that when we next meet, you will show me that flame of enthusiasm that can consume whatever it touches. You, and Kiritsugu Emiya."

The radio shut off, leaving Sakaki in the relative silence of his room. Or, as silent as it can get with the constant buzzing from all of the holo-screens around him. It was in this silence that he began to stew in his thoughts.

Kirei Kotomine was alive. Sakaki's one-time student, one of the biggest pushers in the research that took place over 10 years ago, was alive. Despite the fact that Sakaki saw his corpse, despite the fact that Sakaki saw the moment his life end, he was still alive.

The natural continuation to the thought was, of course, how? How could he have survived? After all, it wasn't very often one survived a hole in the chest and severe third-degree burns (the latter being post-mortem), unless they were an especially lucky God Eater.

At that, his mind immediately drifted to Shirou. The boy, no, the man, had survived many grievous injuries, ones that he should realistically have no way to survive. Even for a God Eater, his ability to survive was ludicrous. Sakaki knew that it had something to do with what Kiritsugu had given him when he saved him. One of the various things they had worked together on in an attempt to help people.

But Shirou's ability to recover from mortal wounds was beyond what the synthesized Bias Factor was recorded to be capable of. It is much more likely that it mutated when it was injected in Shirou. Of course, it wouldn't just mutate in any regular person, which led Sakaki to the assumption that he must have been a God Eater Child with his own natural Bias Factor that mixed with the synthesized one.

Sakaki had followed that assumption as far as he could, looking for any relative of Shirou, but it was likely they had all died. He had compared Shirou's blood to the databases, but Shirou's own genetic code seemed to be so corrupted by the synthetic Bias Factor that it was impossible to accurately relate it to anyone else's.

Shaking his head, he resumed his initial thoughts. Kotomine shouldn't be alive, and wouldn't be able to survive his wounds unless he had some of the synthetic Bias Factor they had all made. But that wouldn't be possible either, as Kiritsugu had the only remaining sample and he gave it to Shirou, while the others were all lost in the fire.

As he continued walking around in circles in his own mind, the door to his lab opened, bringing his attention outward. It was Rin that had entered, looking oddly serious. Rin had been one of his more interested 'students', always asking about this or that, wanting more clarification on the subject of Oracle. If she retired, Sakaki could easily see her being a researcher, working towards a better use of Oracle for the planet. Along with Shirou, who had shown his own expertise in building things and working with technology.

"Professor, I want to ask you about something."

His attention was drawn back to his guest, before he put on a smile that didn't reach his usually closed eyes and nodded to her. Taking a deep breath, Rin spoke about what was on her mind.

"I talked to Shirou earlier. He told me that you had talked to him about something, something important to him."

Here, Rin paused, bringing her hand to her face as if thinking on what to say next. Sakaki just looked at her with his usual amicable expression, but internally the gears in his mind were turning. He knows what he told Shirou. It was all about the incident that took place, the fire, and the people involved. Sakaki figured that Shirou must have talked about it, leading Rin to him. With a deep breath, he prepared to answer to the best of his ability. Coincidentally, it seems that Rin had decided on what she wanted to say.

"Professor Sakaki... Shirou told me about the fire that occurred almost 12 years ago. Specifically, that the fire wasn't just by an Aragami attack, but was caused by people, including Shirou's father."

Hearing that, Sakaki nodded. Locking his hands and leaning forward, he spoke.

"What I am about to tell you is, in fact, restricted information from the database. No one is meant to hear of this outside of this room. However, seeing as how this concerned the boy, I won't punish Shirou for telling you. But know, if anyone unrelated hears about this, there will be consequences."

Giving Rin a hard look, he waited for her to nod in agreement. Rin did so quickly, slightly scared of how the normally cheerful old man was acting so aggressively out of character. Before he spoke more, Rin thought it was best to inform him that Saber and Sakura also knew. He quietly digested this information before speaking again.

"I see. After this, you can share information with them as you see fit. But warn them that my warning still applies."

Taking another deep breath, he began his recount of the backstory of the fire.

"12 years ago, some colleagues and I had begun working on a new Aragami-based weapon. The concept behind it would be a weapon that uses the Resonance between two or more God Eaters to function, attacking any Aragami at its own level. It would allow more God Eaters to be away from the line of duty, keeping more lives safe. The project was named Spenta, after the Zoroastrian God Spenta Mainyuu."

Here, he let out a dry chuckle.

"You might think that it sounds quite similar to the God Arc Soldiers that were being developed back in 2074. You would be right. Project Spenta and the project behind the God Arc Soldier development shared a fair amount of data in the way of how the Soldiers were controlled by God Eaters, as well as the God Eaters being separate from the weapon. It was the execution that was different. Instead of a small number of God Eaters controlling the total, it would be multiple God Eaters controlling a smaller amount of Spenta's."

Sakaki took another deep breath for the long account he was giving.

"On the research team were various scientists and researchers from both this Branch and Cradle. Among them were two that stood out. The first, was Shirou's adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya. Despite being a God Eater, he worked as one of our best researchers, always putting in more time than he should have pushing to the next level. Whenever the subject of live testing came up, he would always offer himself first, before it was put off for another day by the rest of the team. He was, however, still a God Eater, and had to go on missions every now and then. The second, was..."

A third deep breath, then a sigh, as his body seemed to sink into his chair, a part of his imposing appearance fading.

"The second, was Kirei Kotomine. You might remember him. He was a student under your father, Tokiomi."

At the mention of her father, Rin's expression shifted to one of slight sorrow, before shaking it off and looking back to Sakaki.

"A student under my father? I think there might have been someone like that. He was... annoying, to say the least."

Sakaki gave a dry chuckle at that.

"Yes. Kotomine could be considered annoying by some, but it is undeniable that he was one of our best researchers. Unlike your father and Kiritsugu, Kotomine wasn't a God Eater, meaning he was able to work more often and had a larger bearing on the project."

Another sigh.

"Maybe that's where it all went wrong."

A silence persisted between the two, as Sakaki seemed to be within his own mind, reliving the memories from 12 years ago.

It was a few minutes of awkward silence (at least on Rin's part) before Sakaki snapped out of his reminiscing and focused back on Rin, appearing to be in a slightly better mood than before.

"Ah. Sorry about that. It appears I became too wrapped up in my thoughts. Where were we? Ah, that's right. Now, Project Spenta eventually reached the proper stage for live testing. Kiritsugu offered himself as a subject, but it was Kotomine that convinced everyone to use other subjects. They were just a pair of regular God Eaters, not new enough to be called newbies, but not old enough to be considered experienced. As I mentioned, the two were meant to use the Resonance phenomena to control the Senta. This would be achieved through both positive, or at least neutral, thoughts and the combat experience of the God Eaters."

Sakaki's seemingly good mood evaporated at his next words.

"However, Kotomine got to them. I'm not certain of the specifics, but I understand that the experiment went out of control due to the negative thoughts of the God Eaters, and that it was later found on security tape that Kotomine had talked to them, him leaving them in a poor state. I should have seen it sooner. The two were in poor condition at the time, but they told us they were alright and that we should continue. I knew something was wrong, but I continued anyways. I was such a fool."

Putting his closed fist to his head, Sakaki breathed a heavy sigh, before looking back up to finish his recount.

"It first appeared as spikes in our readings, a high amount of monoamine oxidase A being produced from the two. Then, the spikes began to transfer to the Spenta. It was small at first. Slight twitches near the hands, a staticky noise occasionally emanating. But suddenly, it took a terrible turn. The two God Eaters began to scream, displaying signs of pain and distress. Some of the doctors on hand went to investigate, but what no one was looking at was the Spenta. It released a roar, and then the glass that separated us in the administration room from those in the testing room was covered in a thick black gunk. More screams issued from within, before they went silent.

Then, another roar. The black gunk covering the windows receded, revealing flames, corpses, and the Senta, now covered in the black mud and altered, appearing much more Aragami like in appearance. It was then that Kotomine revealed the role he had in the events that occurred, laughing with glee and renaming the Senta as Angra. But, it seems fate had other plans, as the newly named Angra broke through the glass and killed Kotomine. Then, the disaster from 12 years ago occurred. The Angra left, spreading its flames and mud as far as it could reach, killing hundreds. Of them, the only survivor was Shirou."

Sakaki went silent, now finished telling a less-detailed version of the events that he told Shirou. Looking to Rin, he saw that she looked shocked, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape. Sakaki coughed into his fist, drawing Rin's attention.

"You should be going now, Rin. This old man still has work to be done today, you see."

Rin nodded at that and quickly left, a goodbye trailing from her. Sakaki waited for her to leave before sinking into his chair, bringing his hands to his face. With a sigh, he asked to the void,

"What should I do? Kiritsugu? Johanne? Aisha? Just what am I supposed to do?"

* * *

Shirou stood alone in his room. It had been about an hour since Saber, Sakura, and Rin had visited him, where he slightly opened up about what was bothering him. When Shirou thought of it, his cheeks went lightly red from how he had acted, and from Sakura's hug. It was quite soft, actually. Shaking his head from those thoughts, Shirou once more went over his appearance before looking away again.

Instead of his usual white shirt with long blue sleeves and blue jeans, he was wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans. It was a gift from Rin and Sakura, who both said that it would suit him. He honestly wasn't sure. Looking in the mirror, he sees his two-tone appearance blend with the clothes in a bizarre way, slightly wierding him out. Honestly, he would rather if he could just become one colour instead of being two, but that wasn't his only issue with it.

His other issue was how much skin it showed. It wasn't his arms that he was worried about, as they were always bare whenever he wore his combat armour. It was, instead, the rather decent amount of his chest tthat was exposed. Not large, mind you, but still more than usual, and a part of him couldn't help but find it embarrassing.

Shaking his head, he finally decided to just go, not worrying about how much of his skin was exposed. He left his room and entered the elevator, making for the Laboratory Floor. When he reached his destination, he exited the elevator, making his way to Sakaki's lab. Without pausing, he opened the door, only to find the room empty. It was odd that Sakaki left his lab, but not necessarily impossible. Although, this was only the third time he hadn't seen Sasaki within. Shrugging, he made his way to the door in the back.

Just before opening the door, Shirou took a deep breath and then entered. Within, on the bed, was the snow fairy, her long white hair contrasting with the colourful 'wallpaper' of the room. She turned to face whoever had entered, only to gasp when she saw her Onii-chan standing there awkwardly.

"Ah... Hey, Illya. Sorry for being so late."

She continued to stare at him before huffing and looking away from him, crossing her arms. Shirou sweatdropped at the action, before making his way over to her bed and pulling out the nearby chair. Sitting on it, he leant forward and stared at Illya. She kept looking away from him, only huffing. Poking her, Shirou said,

"Oi. Illya. Come on."

She still refused to look at him, only huffing every time he poked her. Bringing his hand away from her, he put his together and bowed his head in the way of apologies.

"Listen Illya, I'm sorry. I'm really, really, _really _sorry. I shouldn't have kept ignoring you like that. I just got too caught up in everything that was happening. But I promise, I won't avoid you anymore."

He said this last part with determination flaring in his eyes, but Illya continued to look away. However, she then let out a sigh that felt way too old for her appearance and looked back to Shirou. With a pout, she responded.

"Fine. But if you forget, I won't forgive you. Okay, Onii-chan?"

Looking at her, Shirou nodded, a slight smile on his face. Illya smiled in kind, and the two began conversation, the atmosphere happy. Eventually, they got around to what was a common topic between the two, normally signalling their goodbyes: Shirou telling Illya a story from his childhood.

"This time, Illya, I want to tell you about a special day."

"What was so special about it, Onii-chan?"

"Well... It's the day I first met Kiritsugu."

From there he related his first and oldest memory. Walking through fire, ignoring the cries of the dying, seeing the **beast**, and holding out his hand, hoping for something to save him. Finally, he mentioned Kiritsugu catching his hand and giving him the smile. The smile that has defined him for years.

When he finished, Illya seemed to have tears in her eyes, leading to Shirou panicking, asking if she was okay. She sniffed, calling him a 'baka-Onii-chan' before giving him a hug and telling him comforting words. Shirou looked at her perplexed, before smiling slightly and wrapping his arms around her. When she let go, he gave her a pat on the head before telling her goodbye and leaving.

However, when he left Illya's room, Shirou's attention was drawn to the slumped over form of Sakaki, looking for all the world like a corpse. Shirou merely sighed before deciding to ask him what was wrong.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, I'm seriously not sure how to do a good Kirei. I really hope I'm not insulting any of you with my depiction of him.**

**I don't know if having Bias Factor injected into you messes with your genetic code, but I sure hope so.**

**Sakaki got serious, and I can't remember that ever happening, at least to this extent. I called out his OOC-ness, so I'm probably fine.**

**With Project Spenta, I honestly wasn't sure if I should make the two test God Eaters actual characters or not. If any of you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them.**

**Monoamine oxidase A is a chemical produced by the brain that inhibits the normal nerve connections that produce the happiness chemicals. That is to say, MO-A is the sadness chemical.**

**I'm kinda sorry this is mostly a background dump chapter, but just note that what Sakaki said was mostly the events that occurred without specifics.**

**Also, did you know that GE3 happens 16 years after GE1? That means this story officially fucks with canon. Not that it didn't already, but I wanted it to be less oblique about it. So let's pretend that GE3 happens way later than it does in canon. Not that it actually comes up in the story.**

**Thank you to Heretical God Douluo, Red Thrasher 2000, ncread, naseem.miah97, 28th00, kilian.bureau87, kilian.bureau.schoetter, and Shirou000 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****3075**


	37. It's Really Just An Awkward Segue

"Um... Professor?"

Sakaki continued to lay slumped over his desk, not appearing cognizant of Shirou at all. Making his way closer, Shirou made to call out again, only to hear the light breathing, almost a wheezing, coming from Sakaki. He was asleep.

Shirou could only look on in wonder at the sleeping form of Sakaki, almost peaceful if not for the occasional grimace. Of course, Sakaki was a person and had to sleep, but it was still surprising. The man was almost legendary for working at all times, regardless of circumstances. It made Shirou smirk a little, before he quickly re-entered Illya's room.

Illya looked at him in confusion, wondering why he came back, and asked as such. He merely asked the location of a spare blanket. She gave him an odd look, before pointing towards a wardrobe against the far end of the room. Nodding, he quickly opened the closet and glanced over the contents (such as multiple white gowns, purple sweaters and jackets, and even an ushanka) before honing in on the white pile at the bottom of the dresser.

Taking it, he gave Illya another goodbye, by way of headpat, before going back to Sakaki and laying the blanket over him. After all, Shirou mused to himself, it was still a little chilly from winter. It wouldn't do for the Director to get sick, after all. As Shirou stepped away to admire his handiwork, Sakaki began to wake.

The first thing he was aware of was how warm it was, which prompted him to panic considering his recent bouts of reminiscence, but paused when he noticed how it was a pleasant warmth instead of the overwhelming heat of the Angra's flames. Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking several times at the illumination of the room. Turning his head, he saw Shirou dressed in a black dress shirt and jeans, looking at him with a slight smirk.

"Nngh... Shirou? How long was I asleep?"

With a light chuckle, Shirou gave him his best approximation.

"Not long, Professor. Maybe 20 minutes, half an hour at most."

At that, Sakaki sighed in what seemed to be discontent. Shirou watched him silently before asking,

"Professor, what's bothering you?"

Like their conversation a few days ago, Sakaki's head snapped towards him at the question. Instead of taking a deep breath, he assumed a thinking pose, hand pushing up his glasses. It was a few seconds before he let out another sigh. Looking back to Shirou, he gestured for him to take a seat. Sitting, Shirou looked at Sakaki.

"Professor?"

A third sigh.

"Shirou, do you remember what I told you a few days ago? About the fire?"

Shirou nodded, his eyes dulling somewhat before he shook his head, eyes regaining their usual lustre.

"Yeah. You told me about Kiritsugu, and Kotomine, and the Senta and Angra. And Avalon."

Nodding, Sakaki related his problems.

"Do you also remember what prompted such talk a few days ago? About the readings?" Seeing Shirou nod, Sakaki continued, "Yes. I sent out one of the reserve units, more available for aiding Satellite Bases and the like. They investigated the source of the readings, only to come up empty."

A deep breath.

"I haven't heard from them since. The only response I got," squeezing his fist and clenching his jaw, he finished, "was a radio message from Kirei Kotomine."

Silence followed. Sakaki looked up to gauge Shirou's reaction, only to be surprised. Instead of what he expected, shock or confusion, horror, even anger. All he got was a plain look, his expression not changing.

"...Shirou?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"...What do you think of the news?"

"Nothing in particular."

His expression remained perfectly neutral, not displaying any emotion.

"I told you the fate of Kotomine, did I not? That his heart was pierced and his body was consumed by the Angra's flames?"

"You did."

"Then why aren't you more surprised at the apparent fact that he is alive?"

"Because, it doesn't sound that surprising. I have suffered what should have definitely been mortal wounds and survived. As have some other God Eaters, and even Zouken and Jubstacheit. If we can all survive due to extenuating circumstances, then I can't see why Kotomine wouldn't be able to. Especially with," his eyes sharpened into blades, sharp enough to cut apart any that oppose him, "that **thing **being there."

Sakaki looked at him in surprise. When he considered Kirei's apparent survival, he thought of it in terms of Shirou and the Bias Factor he and Kiritsugu developed. Zouken and Jubstacheit had completely slipped his mind, their combined research on manipulating Oracle Cells in humans paving the way for new, dangerous opportunities. It wasn't entirely outside of the realm of opportunity that Kirei had somehow managed to become one with the Angra's cells, especially as his body had disappeared, presumably consumed by flame. The only question would be how.

As Sakaki began to explore the path of thought, Shirou brought him back to reality with a cough. Fixing him with a look, Shirou asked,

"Was there anything else Professor? What about the Angra?"

Sakaki adopted a thinking expression. While it was never implicitly stated, Kirei had mentioned that he was going to return. Assuming that he was alive due to the Angra's influence, and taking into account the readings, then...

"There is no proof that says the Angra is returning. But... I believe that Kotomine is planning something. Something that could put even the Great Fire to shame."

He would've said more, if not for Shirou suddenly slamming his hands on his desk, off of his chair and leaning forward. His eyes had both become steel grey, and he spoke in a quiet, calm voice that somehow felt grating.

"Let me go."

It was simple. Three words, capable of translating every single intention and desire he has. He will go, and he will do what he must. Not just as a Hero of Justice, vanquishing evil, but also as merely a man, not wanting anyone else to walk through Hell as he had. However...

"Sorry Shirou. But I cannot allow that. It would not do for me to recklessly send out other God Eaters to what is clearly a dangerous place. If four veterans were easily wiped out by whatever is there, then what use would just you be?"

Shirou, his steel having been submerged underneath his usual self, still tried to argue to let him go, but Sakaki wasn't having any of it. When the premise of surveillance came up, Sakaki calmly responded with drones. Eventually, Shirou exhausted whatever arguments he had, prompting Sakaki to send him off to his quarters. With a sigh, Shirou did just that.

* * *

Eventually, Shirou made his way back to his room, and his vision was immediately drawn to the light filtering in through the window. Or rather, the lack thereof. It was surprising to Shirou to see it was nighttime. Just how long had he been in Sakaki's lab? The question was ignored for the favourable sight of his bed, oddly captivating in a way it rarely was.

As Shirou lay on the bed, shirtless, he thought on what Sakaki had told him. While not as mind-rocking as the previous information, this info filled him with dread and, oddly enough, vengeance. A desire to destroy the source of the fire, and the source of any possible future fire. Slowly, Shirou's mind began to fade out as his eyes became heavier and heavier...

* * *

_...Until he found himself in a plain of infinite blades, seated on a hill with his back to his God Arcs._ _The sun was shining, the gears were turning... there was even a light breeze that moved the surrounding environs. Speaking of..._

_"This place sure has changed a lot, huh?"_

_Instead of the eternal desert that would stretch as far as the eye could see, with swathes of green plains and the occasional featureless strips, it was now much more even. Like Shirou's own body, his world had become something like a bizarre art project. There were chunks of desert surrounded by grass and vice-versa, and though Shirou couldn't see it all, he knew that his world was about half desert and half greenery._

_But intersecting across the entire plain were the featureless areas, like bodies of water in a jungle. The scenery was, despite the contrasting colour scheme, breathtaking. It always filled Shirou with awe. Although, maybe that was expected when one looked at something that represented themself. His musing was interrupted by a chuckle from behind him._

_"Ha. Since when were you so artistic? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have the heart of a paintbrush."_

_With a shift of sand, Shirou turned his head to see Archer behind him, also sitting with his back against Unlimited Blade Works. With a chuckle, Shirou turned back, looking back to the infinite plain._

_"It's been awhile, Archer. How have things been? I can see you've done some remodelling."_

_He gestured towards the landscape, causing another chuckle to come out of Archer._

_"Yeah, well... You haven't exactly been very receptive to my invitations."_

_"Haha. Sorry."_

_Scratching the back of his head, Shirou apologized. It was, after all, his fault that he hadn't been able to come here, especially when he could have used it. Shirou and Archer had a short conversation about how he kept coming here in the past year. Simply put, Shirou can't enter his world when his mind is occupied, with the only exception being sympathizing with a God Arc. _

_"Don't be. You were dealing with a difficult matter. The truth of your origin. Anyone would have reacted the same should they have learned something that important."_

_A comforting silence. A peculiar bond between a weapon and their wielder, merely reflections of the other. No words really had to be said. The two were the same deep down. They knew what the other wanted. But they spoke aloud anyway, out of habit more than anything._

_"What did you want to talk about Archer?"_

_"You already know. About Kirei Kotomine, and the Angra."_

_"What about them?"_

_"Nothing you don't already know. Just be wary of them. What Sakaki told you about Kotomine... It reminds me of yourself. And the Angra... I worry you may not react to it appropriately."_

_At the second confession, Shirou tensed, his eyes hardening. Clouds suddenly covered the sky, and the gears stopped turning. The scent of smoke began to permeate. With a sigh, the sky suddenly cleared, the gears turning again and the scent of smoke fading._

_"Hah. Yeah, you're right. I would react poorly. If... If I ever end up fighting against it... Would you mind keeping me from getting ahead of myself?"_

_Archer huffed slightly, before replying, "Of course. What kind of partner would I be if I didn't aid you?"_

_Shirou let out another chuckle, quieter than his others. Then, another silence permeated. It was comfortable, now that the air had been cleared. The two sat there for what felt like hours, but was likely a few minutes, before Shirou stood up, the sand underneath him shifting._

_"Well, see you later, Archer. Maybe next time we can work on that combo attack, eh?"_

_"Heh. Maybe. Until next time, Shirou Emiya."_

_As Shirou faded away in a flash of light, Archer watched silently. Eventually, he stood, the grass underneath his feet shifting as he did. Turning around, he saw the sight that Shirou saw. But his vision was drawn downwards, towards where the two had been sitting. Him, on the grass, and Shirou..._

_"Tch. Not there yet, huh? Maybe soon. Maybe soon you'll be able to live. Live like a person, not as a tool."_

* * *

Sunlight bleeding through his eyelids was what brought Shirou to the waking world. Sitting up, he ran his hand through his messy hair, his conversations with Sakaki and Archer playing through his mind. It was slightly frustrating, that he was being both prevented and reprimanded from seeking the Angra, but he just let out a sigh, before a reluctant grin grew.

With a light stretch, he got out of his bed, blanket falling off of him. Quickly, he donned his more common clothes, a blue-and-white long-sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans, before giving himself a quick lookover in the mirror. Once satisfied, he left, wondering what he would end up doing today. He should probably apologize to some of his other God Eater friends, like Kota.

He's also been missing the feeling of cooking and tinkering with stuff, so he should head to the Cafeteria and the Engineering Room sometime soon. Speaking of, he should also visit 'The Old Man of the Mountain' to grab some materials and to say hi. Also...

* * *

Meanwhile, in a certain cave system, two men were standing on a small outcropping, having a conversation. If one looked, they would see two men having a reasonable conversation, one with a slight smile and the other with his arms crossed and eyes closed. But if someone was able to hear, well...

"Kirei! I tire of the monotony of this damn cave. I command you, as your King, show me something entertaining!"

"Now, now, My King. The preparations should be done in a few days, a week at most. If you would just be patient, then you will be able to fight the Beast." The smile on his face then became fuller, and at the same time more despicable, as he continued, "Of course, if you so desire, you may introduce yourself to your subjects early, and occupy yourself with them until I am ready."

Gilgamesh's eyes snapped open, a disgusted sneer blooming on his face. As his hands tightened on his arms, the slightest sound of steel scraping on rock echoed throughout the cave before he spoke.

"Hoh? Do you dare try and command me, Kirei, you mongrel? Your King?"

Kirei broke into a bow, the smile on his face growing even wider, as he responded.

"Of course not, My King. Merely a suggestion to alleviate your boredom. Although, I do believe it would be beneficial to you if you begin your dominion now, so you have those you determine worthy underneath you."

This time, Gilgamesh let out a small growl, before calming down and speaking in a slightly clipped tone.

"Hmph. Beneficial it may be, but I do not appreciate your tone. As well as that, don't make it sound as if I am some conquering king, taking whatever mongrel I want for myself. I am their rightful King, and it would behoove them to learn that. As such, I will be going to them."

As Gilgamesh walked away, he tossed over his shoulder, "You better be done with that filthy beast soon Kirei. Some mongrels can only keep me entertained for so long."

Then he was gone. When Kirei was sure Gilgamesh wouldn't come walking back, he let out a sigh, before that despicable smile came back. After all, Gilgamesh would be going to the place that he called home for a few years of his life. While he wouldn't be there to witness it, he was certain Gilgamesh would create some beautiful fireworks.

In the meanwhile...

"Hah. Might as well get to work."

With a smile, Kirei turned around and picked up some tools, moving towards what looked like black sludge in the shape of a person, pinned to the wall by several large metal stakes.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, I think I might be bad at writing Fan fiction. Ah well. More importantly, plot moving, bad character representation, the works! (I swear I must have butchered everyone here. Sakaki, Kirei, Gil, even Shirou and Archer, and those two are meant to be out of character.)**

**An ushanka is one of those Russian winter hats, like what Illya wears initially in F/SN, or more modernly, Mia and Nicola from Code Vein.**

**Some of my more attentive and more Fate focused readers can probably figure out what Avalon is, and how it relates. Don't worry, I'll explain it later. Probably. I'm pretty sure LionHeart33 guessed it way back when, so give a hand to them.**

**Looking back on some of my earlier reviews and responses to those reviews, I can't help but feel that I've betrayed everyone's expectations for this story. But that's fine, for some reason? I'm not sure. I'll just say this again, I will finish this story. Just a bit of self-affirmation.**

**Thank you Stevenpham379 and Mary Sue Lover for favouriting or following this story.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 2576**


	38. Gold King, Gold Eye'd Faker

"Shirou!"

The red-head reacted instinctively at her words, immediately flipping away from his opponent. Where he was originally standing, a grey blur passed by, moving fast enough to have sent him flying if he had stood there. Without hesitation, he leapt forward, well within his opponent's guard, and spun, opening shallow cuts on its chest and arms. That was then followed up by him abruptly stopping, raising both blades above his head before he brought them down with all his might, causing a deep wound.

Seeing a golden glow from the corner of his eye, Shirou disengaged, leaping back again. As he did, a blade of golden light came to strike the Aragami he was fighting, a Vajra, leaving a deep gash in the Vajra's left arm. Losing its stability, the Vajra collapsed, struggling to get up.

"Shirou!"

Another voice called to him, causing him to turn on his feet. Seeing a black and red projectile fly towards him, Shirou leapt over it, now on a collision course with the other Aragami, a Gboro-Gboro. As he heard an explosion occur behind him, Shirou brought his God Arcs upward, crossing them. When he was moments away from reaching the Aragami, he brought both blades downward, colliding against the Gboro-Gboro's 'turret'.

The force behind his leap wasn't enough to overcome tthe force of the Gboro-Gboro, sending him flying backwards. As he was airborne, the Aragami charged up its Oracle before shooting a ball of concentrated water right at him. Shirou quickly brought up his God Arcs to block it, only causing him to be sent flying further back. Landing on the floor in a roll, Shirou found himself in front of the now dead Vajra.

As he stood up to continue the fight, his attention was drawn to the figure dressed in blue next to the Gboro-Gboro. With a swing of her golden God Arc, the Aragami found itself airborne, a deep slash wound on its underside. Without quarter, a figure dressed in red appeared from above it, pulling the trigger on her black Blaster God Arc, sending a black and red orb of Oracle Energy into it, causing it to hit the floor then rebound back up.

"**Shirou**!"

At once, the two figures yelled out to him, prompting him to finish the Gboro-Gboro. With a deep breath, Shirou charged forward, focusing on his blades all the while. He felt the Oracle pumping through his Armlets, how it went through his entire body, from his brain to his toes. He felt the connection between his Armlets and his God Arc cores, and trailed it until he reached the blades. Then, slowly, he forced the Oracle through his blades, before solidifying it atop the God Arcs.

As he reached the airborne Gboro-Gboro, he managed to create two neon-green blades to coat his God Arcs, increasing their range and enhancing their damage. Then, in a split-second, he brought his God Arcs down, quartering the Aragami in a spray of blood. Stopping, he landed on one knee and then quickly let the gathered Oracle energy disperse before it became unstable.

Standing upwards, Shirou looked around the environment, seeing the handiwork of him and his team. They were in the Wailing Plains, and had been there for the last half hour. As such, even though their remnants weren't there as proof, the trio had slain many Aragami. They had, for reasons unknown, been moving in this direction for the last three days. Only in small groups, but it was still worrying. Not worrying enough to warrant more than one team, but still worrying.

The trio had volunteered, with Rin suggesting the idea, three days after Shirou's last talk with Sakaki. The goal was to help Shirou with his Oracle control, so that his Oracle blades could stay stable long enough for him to attack his opponents without them exploding. They were given the go ahead by Sakaki, and here they were.

Shirou's attention was pulled to the sounds of Devouring, causing him to see Rin pulling her God Arc away from the Vajra, flicking her twin-tails as she did. She turned, only to see him looking at her, and smiled. Shirou felt a slight flutter in his chest, but ignored it for the slight giddiness he felt. He walked over, and she asked him,

"So? Did it work?"

She looked at him expectantly, and he tried to make a downtrodden expression, but was given away by the slight quirk to his lips, his slowly-becoming-trademark smirk spreading. Rin, seeing the smirk at odds with his expression, began to laugh, a giggle at first, before it turned into hunched over hooting, Shirou soon joining in, although less extreme, and the third figure, Saber, walking into the scene with confusion.

As Rin's laughter slowly tapered off into laboured breathing, Saber looked to Shirou with a slight quirk in her eyebrow, before asking the same question Rin did. With his smirk now proudly on his face, Shirou answered in the positive. Saber looked at him with pride before clapping his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Shirou!"

Rin came over, still panting slightly, and gave him a similar message.

"Y-yeah! I... I knew you could do it... Shirou!"

Shirou smiled at the two of them, happy at their praise (even if a part of him, a small part but a part nonetheless, told him he didn't deserve their praise) before he looked to his God Arcs, Unlimited Blade Works. He asked them, both mentally and aloud, although in a mumble,

"How are you doing?"

A slight mental image formed, of Archer doing stretches and shaking out parts of his body, as if sore. Archer shot him a slight smirk, before answering mentally.

"_I'm doing fine. Much better than the first few times. Although... I am a bit hungry. Think you could get me the leftovers?"_

Shirou nodded enthusiastically, before moving past Saber and Rin, who both looked at him in slight confusion, and towards the Vajra. Taking a pose, with his left arm and black God Arc, Kanshou, held forward, and his right arm and his white God Arc, Bakuya, held behind him, he thrust Bakuya forward as, simultaneously, a creature made of a jet-black substance with neon-green eyes and fangs formed over it. It extended beyond Bakuya, which seemed to shrink in response, before biting into the dead Vajra, taking out a chunk.

Ignoring the slight sensation of meat and blood in his mouth, which definitely did not taste oddly pleasant, no sirree, nor did it make him think of that Chinese food he had read about, Shirou turned and made his way to the Gboro-Gboro. Repeating his actions, with Kanshou devouring instead of Bakuya, and the not-taste of fish instead of imaginary Chinese. With that done, he turned to speak to his teammates, only to hear...

**Crackle**

"Congratulations you three! You all did really well dealing with the large number of Aragami. This should be the end of the extended operation, so you can come home. The chopper is coming for you now."

"Thanks, Hibari."

"You're welcome."

With that, the earpiece turned off, and Shirou looked to Saber and Rin. The two were talking to each other, likely about their performance, and Shirou moved over to join them, only...

**Crash**! **Boom**!

Noises suddenly came from the ruins resting on the lip above the Wailing Plains, alongside clouds of displaced dust. Shirou quickly made his way to the other two before assuming a combat stance, Rin and Saber following suit. As the noise got louder, and the dustclouds started appearing closer and closer, Shirou's earpiece crackled again.

**Crackle**

"Shirou! Saber! Rin! Be careful! Another group of Aragami is coming your way at high speeds! Actually-- Wait, what!? The number of Aragami is decreasing!?" The worry in Hibari's voice immediately hiked up, alongside the addition of confusion. Swallowing it down, she gave one last warning, "Be careful you three! We don't know what's coming now!"

The earpiece turned off, leaving the three in silence. So, they waited, the tension in the air thock. They didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, a large object came flying over the cliff towards them. On closer inspection, it was actually a torn apart Quadriga, but they weren't paying attention to that. Their eyes were instead drawn to blonde man, his hair swept backwards in a style reminiscent of Archer's, with golden... armour?

No, they weren't crazy. The man was wearing legitimate golden armour over his body, with black pants and a red waistcoat. It would have looked ridiculous, if not for his expression. His crimson eyes, along with his sneer, displayed a man who was disgusted by what he was seeing. The trio disgusted him down to his core.

But more worrying was what they weren't seeing. The slain Quadriga was covered in deep cuts from various locations. But the man didn't seem to have any weapons on him, despite having an Armlet the same as Saber's own. So where was his God Arc?

"Hmph. Who are you mongrels, that dare raise your weapons at your King?"

The blonde man suddenly spoke, and when he did, it was with a tone that brooked no argument, as if he was speaking to mere animals. Considering his placeholder title for them, that may not have been too far off the mark. Shirou tightened his stance as he answered.

"Shirou Emiya. A God Eater from the Far East Branch. Who are you?"

The blonde man's eyes flicked over to him, his sneer deepening with distaste, before he looked back to the others. A mocking laugh came from him, before he answered with a question.

"Hah! And why should I tell you that, mongrel? Can you not tell by my sheer presence who I am!?"

He asked with sheer cockiness in his tone, and if Shirou wasn't as keen as he was, he would have regarded the blonde man as hot air and nothing more. But there was a confidence in his actions, a look in his eyes, that kept Shirou on his toes, preparing for whatever would occur.

"And besides that," His expression, which had shifted into one of cockiness, changed into one that inferred anger and curiosity in equal measure, "Your two companions haven't introduced themselves yet. Is it not the custom of your people to give your own name first before asking for another?"

Ignoring the blatant hypocrisy in his statement, and the negative implications behind his tone when he called the two companions, Rin and Saber shared a look before introducing themselves as such.

"Rin Tohsaka, a God Eater affiliated with the Far East Branch."

"Saber, God Eater Prototype currently assigned to the Far East Branch."

The blonde man seemed to start at that, before he began to laugh. It was different to his earlier one. Instead of mocking, it seemed to show true amusement. When he was eventually done, he pointed a finger at Saber.

"So you're Saber? If that's true, then you may call me Archer. The last Prototype God Eater. Although, I am far stronger than any made before me. That is why I am King."

The arrogance of his comments would have ticked Shirou off if not for what he gave his name as. Archer. Like his partner. Archer, who seems to have far too deep an understanding of Shirou, of how his abilities work, of his friends. Archer, who he should probably have a conversation with but doesn't think is important enough. That's suddenly been bumped up.

Rin was much more vocal in her confusion.

"Archer!?"

Saber, too, spoke, albeit as more of a mutter.

"Archer?"

Rin, of course, didn't let the question remain unanswered though.

"What do you mean, Archer!? Archer is tall, and tan, and has white hair, and looks like Shirou! You-- You don't look a thing like him, aside from the hair-do, but besides that--" Suddenly, she pointed at Saber, "How do you know Saber!?"

Shirou could see annoyance creep over the man's face, but he laughed before mockingly asking Saber,

"Oh, Saber. Did you never tell them? Did you not want them to know, or did it just never come up in conversation?"

Before Rin could ask another question, or Saber could give a response, the blonde man (calling him Archer was too bizarre for Shirou to even grasp) raised his finger before proclaiming,

"Listen up and listen well, mongrels! Just this once, your King shall explain to you about Prototype God Eaters, so be grateful!"

The trio could only give him blank looks, with Rin's brow twitching and Shirou keeping his God Arcs close. Then, the blonde man explained about Prototype God Eaters, about the names he and Saber were gifted, everything.

Essentially, Prototype God Eaters were just that, God Eaters made with experimental technology and abilities in mind. The death rate of these God Eaters was high, and Saber and the blonde man were hardly the first generation. As far as they knew, they were closer to the 4th or 5th generation, with the blonde man being the most recent.

They were each given a name that corresponded with either their experimental God Arcs or their experimental abilities, each according to names observed in a book. There was:

Saber, one who wields swords

Archer, one who attacks from range

Lancer, one who wields a spear

Caster, one who used unknown arts

Rider, one that controlled the battlefield by proxy

Assassin, one that attacked from the shadows

Berserker, one that fought with pure rage

When related to experimental God Eaters, this would be experimental Blade Arcs, experimental Arcs that attack from range, experimental Spear Arcs, experimental abilities that allow the manipulation of Oracle, experimental abilities or Arcs that allowed the control of a proxy, experimental stealth abilities and Arcs, and experimental abilities that put everything into strength, depriving the wielders of thought.

Shirou was able to relate a few of these. Saber did use an experimental Long Blade God Arc. Berserker had abilities that would deprive him of sanity, granting him immense strength. Lancer also used an experimental Charge Spear Arc. If those three were accurate, the man would then have a ranged God Arc. Yet...

"Bu-What!? Experimental technology, classes dedicated to each branch, and no one knows anything of this!? Why wasn't any of this ever implemented!? Or-"

As Rin continued questioning and picking apart the information she was given, in a way that felt alarmingly out of character for her, the blonde man sighed in annoyance.

"You are annoying, mongrel. Why don't you act like your fellow mongrels and just sit there quietly." Looking to Saber, a small smile grew on his face before he asked, "Saber. Why don't you and me battle? It has been a long time since I had a worthy opponent. It would bring me joy to let loose for once."

Saber bristled at his words, before responding, "Do you take me for a coward, Archer!? I would never attack someone without a means to defend themselves!"

The blonde chuckled at her words. "Ah, do not worry, Saber. I am far from undefended. Just let me get rid of these other mongrels, then we can commence our battle."

At those words, Shirou tensed. Far from undefended? Allow me to get rid of them? What did he mean? Shirou kept his eyes peeled, trying to find the slightest sign of an attack. Suddenly, he saw a flash of metal to his left, coming towards the still thinking Rin. With haste, he threw Bakuya towards where he expected the flash of metal would be, successfully deflecting it and awakening Rin from her thoughts.

However, something deep within seemed to scream at him to watch out for behind him. Slightly turning his head, Shirou saw another flash of metal, what he could now realize was more like a long, thin blade, coming towards his left. Raising Kanshou behind his back, he blocked the second blade, feeling slight reverberations throughout his arm.

Looking back to the blonde man, he saw that he had a surprised expression, his mouth slightly agape. He quickly closed it before giving Shirou an appraising look. Then a slight huff.

"It seems I underestimated you, mongrel. It normally takes other mongrels longer to notice the blades, but you caught them immediately. It seems I'll have to take you a tad more seriously."

Yet again, a blade appeared and flew towards him. He easily deflected It, sending it flying off to the side. Immediately after that, two blades came flying at him. This was slightly more difficult with only one blade, but not impossible. Shirou deflected one and dodged underneath the other, which came from the opposite direction.

After that, there were three blades, all coming from different directions at a different tempo. Shirou blocked one, twisted around another, then parried the third. Four blades appeared, and then Shirou found himself in trouble. He blocked the first blade, dodged the second, but the third and fourth came at the same time, leaving him unable to block both or dodge from his current position. So, reaching out his hand, he called for Bakuya.

In the next instant, it came flying from where it was embedded in the ground, seamlessly landing in Shirou's outstretched palm. Now with both blades in hand, Shirou spun, deflecting both oncoming blades.

The entire proceeding took less than ten seconds. In that time, Saber attacked the blonde man in an attempt to take the heat off Shirou, but was then attacked by a few blades herself. Shirou didn't have the time to count when he glanced over, but it was way more than he was dealing with. Rin had also tried to attack, but was dealing with a similar problem, leading to her and Saber standing back to back.

The blonde man's eyes widened at the sight of Shirou calling his God Arc to him. Suddenly, a look of outrage emerged, before he raised his hand. Immediately, five blades came. Then six. Then seven. Each time, Shirou's dodges were closer and closer, each of his blocks or parries sending stronger reverberations up his arms.

Then eight blades came, and he felt a wound emerge over his right hip, the blade cutting through his body armour. Nine blades, two cuts appearing on each arm. Then ten blades. All of them coming from from various directions. Above, behind, to his sides, in front of him, all at different tempos, all at different speeds. Shirou managed to block one that came from above, then jumped over one that flew for his legs. In the air, he had to block two that came for his chest, managing to twist his way around a third.

But when he landed, the remaining five blades all came at once. Being off-balance, Shirou couldn't dodge without putting himself in a worse position. Bringing his God Arcs up, he blocked the two blades that came straight for him. The two blades, however, were moving with a high velocity, completely destroying Shirou's guard and whatever balance he may have had.

The other three blades, which were further away than the previous two, continued towards him. He was able to spin around on his heel, dodging one, but leading him into the path of the other two. He tried to move his God Arc to defend, but had nowhere near enough time, causing the blades to impale him through his left side and right shoulder. As they slid through him, Shirou took note of the gathering amount of displaced dirt starting to inhibit his vision from the blades that had hit the ground. Then slowly, he looked up to the blonde man.

* * *

Gilgamesh was annoyed. When he left the cave, he had expected it to be a long stroll, maybe the better part of a day, for him to reach the mongrel's den. Instead, he had been walking for three days and was constantly encountering weak beasts that fancied themselves Kingslayers. That confidence of theirs quickly diminished in the face of his power, sending them all running.

Now here he was, dealing with some annoying mongrels. The red one had been the most irritating, blithely asking and demanding information from him, the King. He had thought he found a worthy adversary in Saber, another Prototype like him. But before he could get her alone, the other mongrel, the one with two God Arcs, saved the red one and himself. That was annoying, but also interesting. Gilgamesh decided to test him.

When Saber and the red mongrel attacked him, he spared them some attention, at least for Saber's sake. But his focus was mostly on the other mongrel. His diligence was repaid by the sight of the mongrel's God Arc flying into his palm. It was surprising, but more than that, it was annoying. That was similar to his own ability. Looking closer, Gilgamesh saw that the mongrel had an Armlet the same as his own on his right wrist.

With a look of annoyance, internally brimming with anger, Gilgamesh made his weapon attack faster, from more various angles. It was when he saw the mongrel be impaled by two of his weapon's segments, as a dustcloud rose, that he let out a sigh. It looks like the mongrel couldn't exceed his expectations. Ignoring the slight sense of satisfaction he felt from putting down the copy mongrel, he looked over to Saber and the red mongrel, intending to end the farce and take his time with her, when he saw a faint glow out of the corner of his eye.

It was coming from the dustcloud the copy mongrel was in. Suddenly, a blur of green came flying towards him. Operating on instinct, Gilgamesh summoned one of his segments to block it, causing the green blade to part in two. Where the blade came from, the dust had parted to reveal the mongrel's heterochromatic eyes looking at him. Then, another green blade ememerged from the smoke, and Gilgamesh easily blocked that, sending it flying off.

"Hahahaha! Is that all you can muster, mongrel?"

He looked down on the copy mongrel, a smirk present on his face. But, the smirk fell off when the mongrel brought his right arm up, pointing the blade at him, and spoke.

"Don't underestimate those below you. Otherwise, you'll find yourself being usurped, 'King'."

It was only the slight whistling noise he heard that kept Gilgamesh from dying. Spinning around, he saw the green blades that he had deflected spinning towards him. He brought out two segments to block them, successfully destroying them, but a third blade slipped through. It was the fragment of the first blade he broke. He brought one of his segments towards himself to block the blade.

The whistling noise was heard again, this time from the copy mongrel. Gilgamesh spun once more, hurriedly blocking the newly formed blade, but a fragment of it that split off from the collision with Gilgamesh's segment flew past Gilgamesh's face, leaving a shallow cut. Suddenly, there was silence. One second passed. Then another. Slowly, Gilgamesh brought his hand up to his cheek, rubbing at it and slightly flinching from the pain. On his hand was something red.

Something red and wet.

Something red and wet that came out of him.

His blood.

His blood, from his face. Meaning... he was bleeding.

He was bleeding.

He was bleeding because of that copy mongrel.

Bleeding because of that mongrel's ability to manipulate his blades like his own limbs.

Just like him.

Bleeding because of that _mongrel's _ability to create blades at a moment's notice.

_Just. Like. Him. _

Bleeding because of that... that damn...

That damn _Faker__!_

Trembling with barely restrained rage, Gilgamesh looked over to the Faker, his crimson eyes practically glowing. With a snarl to his tone, he roared.

"How dare you!? You damn Faker! How dare you harm me, your King!? The punishment for this, shall be grand!"

* * *

Shirou looked at the blonde man, warily keeping his God Arcs near him, specifically to his two deep wounds. When the blonde man yelled, Shirou waited for his 'grand punishment', and was not disappointed. Suddenly, all of the blades that had been littered around the area flew towards him. Not just the 55 that Shirou dealt with, but even the ones that Saber and Rin were fighting.

They all came together, forming a cylinder of blades. Then, the blonde man reached his hand into the cylinder. From his Armlet on his right wrist, a crimson red pulse, like crackling electricity, worked its way up his arm and into the cylinder. The cylinder of blades started to spin, the red energy circling it, until it was just a red blur. Then there was a flash, causing everyone to look away.

When they looked back, they saw the blonde man holding something strange. It was like a God Arc in appearance, yet not. It was as long as a Knife Arc, maybe even shorter, but without an edge. Actually, it looked more like a smooth cylinder. No matter how hard Shirou tried to look at it, he couldn't get a read on it. Not even a name. Just a slight headache.

The blonde man slowly lowered the cylinder, then moved it horizontally, as if parting water. As he did, the cylinder began to glow red near the tip, before blades started to appear from it. When he was done moving the cylinder, there floated a line of twenty or so blades. Raising his left hand, the blades rearranged themselves so they surrounded Shirou, and by proxy Saber and Rin.

"Face your punishment, and regret the choices that led you to me, Faker!"

The dome of blades then brought the wrath of the Golden King on the trio.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee, and I still can't do Gil. Who would have thought writing like an asshole with an overinflated sense of ego (although a well proven one) would have been difficult.**

**So this chapter was longer than expected, thanks to the power of fight scenes. Yay. Now I need to figure out how to bring it to an end next chapter. Don't worry, Gil won't die. Probably.**

**Also, no, I won't introduce any more Servants. It will be better for everyone involved.**

**Thank you alatreon56 and Finder18 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 4279**


	39. A Disarming Duel, A Heart Flying Higher

The dust swirling around him. The shrieking of the blades as they collide and slide against each other. The sparks flying from those collisions. The pulsing pain emanating from his wounds on his body. This was all Shirou knew.

Actually, no. That wasn't all he knew. It was just all he could afford to pay attention to. Beyond the blades that were colliding against his own, there was a man. A self-proclaimed king, adorned in gold, looking down on him with hatred. Or at least, what Shirou thought was anger. It felt almost too childish to be anger.

It wasn't just him and the golden man either. Near him, dealing with the dust, the blades, the sparks, were his teammates. Saber and Rin. Rin was struggling, covered in a few wounds that slowly sapped her strength, while Saber was uninjured, blocking blades with grace. But the battle was taking its toll on all of them.

As the blades were disposed of, all of them being deflected into the ground, even more blades appeared. With a wave of the bizarre God Arc in his hand, the golden man produced a large number of the blades. With a wave of his free hand, those blades repositioned themselves, surrounding the trio in a dome of blades. And so, the blades came falling down once more, and Shirou engaged in his dance of blades.

But in his mind, Shirou was thinking. Looking for a chance, an opportunity to turn the tide against the arrogant King. He had an opportunity, but he wasn't sure if it would always be there. Between the time when all of the blades had been dealt with and new blades were positioned around them, there was a second wide gap, maybe not even that, where the attacking ceases and the king is vulnerable. Whether it was a legitimate weakness, a limit on the number of blades he can control at once, or just arrogance, Shirou was going to abuse it.

As the blades descended, Shirou began to channel Oracle into his God Arcs. It was a risky manoeuvre, as there was no guarantee they wouldn't shatter, but he had to do it. His God Arcs called out in pain, but all he could do was silently apologize. As he was blocking the oncoming blades, he noticed that they didn't have the same force as they did before. In fact, his strikes seemed to almost break them. This was the effect Shirou forgot about, his ability to 'reinforce' his blades with Oracle, letting them hit harder. The last time he used it was against Berserker if he remembered right.

As he was blocking the blades, he eventually found his shot. When he struck away the final blade, he spun towards the golden man. In the same breath, he forced the Oracle out of his God Arcs, two neon-green blades flying forth. As they neared the so-called king, however, Shirou realized his mistake. For in the next moment, his blades were blocked by the king's own, as he looked down on him with a cruel grin.

* * *

Gilgamesh was mad, but that anger was slowly being turned to boredom. After all, seeing the same thing happen over and over again had a habit of becoming mind-numbing. However, he was still angered by that damn Faker's continued existence, so he continued to drown him in segments.

He was hoping for something interesting to happen, maybe from Saber, when he produced another wave of segments. It was, however, the Faker that continued to steal his attention. Instead of fighting as he had been, slowly becoming weaker from the continued activity and the wounds peppering his body, his strikes became unexpectedly strong. The segments he confronted were merely batted away, like sticks.

While a part of him felt angry at how the Faker was treating his segments (although he doesn't necessarily treat them better), another part of him felt cautious. The Faker's enhanced strength certainly didn't mean anything good for him, and as such, Gilgamesh brought some of his segments over and prepared them to defend. When the final segment was deflected, that's when the Faker acted. He spun around and swung, blades of energy flying. But he was prepared. With a wave of his hand, they were deflected by his segments.

As they flew in opposing directions, he looked down upon the Faker, a cruel grin dancing on his face. It, however, changed to a look of annoyance at the Faker's expression. Instead of fear, anger, or even despair, all that happened was his eyes widening, before they were set back into a look of determination. Then he did what Gilgamesh could only describe as a foolish move.

He threw his God Arcs at him.

* * *

When his Oracle blades were deflected by the golden man's own, Shirou felt annoyance. Looking at the king's grin, Shirou realized that he wasn't exactly subtle when he charged up his attack. So, he was annoyed with himself. But he refused to let that annoyance show on his face, which rewarded him with the king looking annoyed.

Aside from that, the best thing to come of his attempt was a longer reprieve than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rin swallow a Restore Pill, the wounds on her body ceasing to bleed and even closing up. Saber was breathing a little bit heavier, but looked fine for the most part. She noticed him looking and sent him a nod. He responded in kind before looking back to the golden man.

He had lost his opportunity, so now he had to make a new one. But there was no way to know how long they would have before the king began to hammer them with more blades. So, there was only one option. Press the 'advantage', if it can even be called that, and try to keep him off balance. So Shirou did the only thing he could think of.

He threw his God Arcs at him.

Shirou knew it was very stupid. The expression on the man's face showed how dumb his plan was. If Shirou could see Saber and Rin's faces, he was certain the stupidity of the action would be shown on their face. But he had a plan.

When the self-proclaimed king snapped out of his confusion, he quickly brought up blades to deflect the thrown God Arcs. As he did, Shirou began to run towards him. The king looked at him in shock and then disappointment. Raising his hand, he brought two blades to hover behind him before shooting them at Shirou.

Shirou kept running, on a collision course with the two. He sidestepped the first then the second, bopping to the right then the left. Gilgamesh brought out even more. But before he could launch them towards Shirou...

"There!"

The golden king spun around, blocking the two Oracle blades with his own, sending them flying off once again. Before he could call out some mocking jeer, he turned around to find Shirou grimacing. The reason was obvious. In his hands were the two Oracle blades that were just deflected. But he wasn't holding them in the traditional way of holding a sword.

The blades had cut into his hands, deep enough that they almost went straight through his fingers and palm. Luckily, it seems his bones were strong enough to hold them without just being cut apart. Blades in hand, Shirou continued to run towards the gold king.

As he ran, the firing continued with greater intensity. Instead of an ever increasing number of blades surrounding him, the king began to rapid-fire them, causing Shirou to lose some of his momentum. He blocked some, he dodged others, and all the while he was trickling Oracle into his blades, making them stronger, larger, and a deeper green. Eventually, he came close to the cliff where the king was standing, but found he had no way to reach him.

"Shirou!"

Suddenly, a flash of gold and a bang. Before his eyes, Excalibur had been thrown and landed blade first into the cliff face, causing cracks to appear but also acting as a foothold. It also had the benefit of causing the king to stumble. Shirou took the opportunity given to him, and ran. He jumped towards the wall and then jumped off of it, towards the God Arc.

Landing with his feet on the blade, he saw that he was close enough to jump to the top of the cliff, only...

"You... damn... Faker!"

The king, no longer stumbling, threw his hand forward, pulling blades towards Shirou and firing. Shirou couldn't dodge due to the little legroom, nor could he block every blade that came. As he struck a few down, some appeared from directly above him, in his blind spot. As they descended...

"Shirou!"

A black and red blast of Oracle struck the area above his head. The blades that came for him had been blown away, and the cliff had suffered more damage, a hole being present above his head. Once more, the king was destabilized, and Shirou took his shot. He jumped upwards, hooking his foot into the hole, before jumping once more, sending him above the king. In the air, he brought both God Arcs above his head.

* * *

Gilgamesh, having recovered quicker this time from the mongrel's attack on the cliff, brought forth segments to defend him, while also deploying segments behind him to rip apart that damn Faker once he was defenseless. But as the Faker's blade collided with his segments...

**Boom**!

The blade exploded, destroying his segments. At the same time, a whistling to his right alerted him to one of the Faker's God Arcs flying straight towards him. He brought up more segments to deflect it, and almost fell over because of the force of the blade. As he did, he thought he heard the Faker mutter something.

* * *

"Our strength rips the mountains..."

Immediately after, Shirou brought down his left Oracle blade, causing it to collide with the king's other blades. Like before, he flooded it with Oracle, causing it to become unstable, then he let it go, allowing it to explode, destroying the king's blades and wounding his hands.

At the same moment, Bakuya returned, also being deflected by the king's blades, but just barely as the King was completely off kilter. This time, instead of letting the God Arc fly away, Shirou pulled it towards him, grabbing it with his bloody palm. As he did, he muttered out another line of the poem.

"Our swords split the water..."

Planting both feet on the ground, Shirou made one final burst towards the king and brought up his blade.

* * *

Gilgamesh watched as the Faker's blade rose, slowly, inch by inch. Eventually it reached an apex before descending. Gilgamesh tried pulling as many segments as he could, but there were none that could get between him and the Faker in time. As the blade came near, he brought up his own God Arc, his Ea, to defend.

* * *

Bakuya clanged against the king's strange God Arc, unable to cut through. It was, however, enough to knock him further off balance. Reaching out his other hand, Shirou called to the discarded Kanshou. As he did so, he got ever closer to the king, well within his guard. As he looked at Shirou with anger in his eyes, Shirou let a slight smirk pass his face, before pulling his head back then launching it forward, delivering a wicked headbutt. As blood welled from the king's nose, Kanshou landed into Shirou's left hand, prompting him to finish the battle.

* * *

Gilgamesh felt pain flaring along his face, felt something warm dribbling on his lips, and felt a stinging in his eyes. (He was _not_ crying! A King should never cry!) He was eventually able to crack open an eye, only to see the Faker. (That damn Faker.)

The Faker looked at him with his steel grey and golden eyes, determination twinkling in them like stars. (That _damn _Faker.)

His blade as white as the moon and his blade as black as night were poised to strike him down, held in a cross. (That _damn Faker_.)

Even if he was struck down, he would make sure to punish the Faker in kind. With a wave of his hand, segments of his Ea arrayed behind him ready to strike. (That _damn Faker_!)

Then the Faker brought the blades down. (_Damn him_!)

* * *

Shirou brought down his God Arcs. The king was somehow able to bring his own upwards, but was only able to block one. The other kept flying directly towards its target and struck true.

It had cut deep into the king's right arm. Straight through the armour, the only thing keeping it attached was the bone. As he screamed out in pain, Shirou quickly forced what little Oracle he had left into the blade.

Looks like I won't be able to finish that poem. That was all Shirou could think in the situation as he brought his now reinforced God Arc onto the king's arm, severing it from the rest of his body. As he did, however, he felt pain bloom along his back.

* * *

Reluctantly, he screamed in pain. The feeling of his skin being parted, his muscles torn and his bone splintered, was too much for him. As his arm fell to the floor, he felt his connection with his Ea begin to fade. Before it did, he called down the segments he had left floating behind the Faker, taking no small amount of pleasure at his surprised and pained expression.

Feeling his connection to Ea fade to almost nothing, Gilgamesh stumbled away, biting back another scream and instead looked at the Faker with a glare, his eyes burning red, and yelled,

"My name is Gilgamesh! Remember it, you damn Faker! For the next time we meet, I shall kill you myself!"

His piece being said, he walked away (like a coward) intent on returning to Kirei and having him fix this. He better be able to fix this, or there would be hell to pay.

* * *

Shirou looked up from the floor towards where the disarmed king was walking way. His name was Gilgamesh. That stuck out in his mind, alongside the pain all over his body. There was a blade in his left shoulder, one in the small of his back, two in his right arm, and another in his right side. The rest of the blades all fell around him.

Or at least, there were blades. But they were slowly fading, leaving several gaping wounds peppering Shirou. All that remained was the God Arc that Gilgamesh dropped. He moved to get up, but found that he couldn't, nor did he really want to. Instead, the call of sleep seemed to be calling him. So he slowly closed his eyes, letting rest claim him.

* * *

_As had become common of whenever he was incapacitated in combat, when he opened his eyes he was greeted by the plain of blades. Sitting up, he was once more on the hill, Unlimited Blade Works planted proudly in the ground of sand and grass. And standing next to him, clad in his red coat, was Archer._

_"Hey, Archer. Good to see you."_

_He looked down to Shirou, emotion sparkling in his steel grey eyes. The most prominent emotions being worry and... relief? Shirou wasn't great at telling how someone's feeling beyond worry, anger, sadness, happiness, and surprise, so relief was a bit out there. But something inside him, a gut feeling, was telling him that was the case._

_"It's good to see you again as well, Shirou Emiya. But honestly, could you not wait to see me? We only saw each other a few days ago."_

_He said this with a smirk, but the worry in his eyes remained. Shirou took a deep breath, and decided to confront Archer on something he should have ages ago._

_"Hey, Archer. I need to ask you something."_

_"Yes?"_

_"Who... no, what are you?"_

_Silence greeted his question. Shirou saw Archer's expression become conflicted, before he smoothed it out and answered casually._

_"I am your God Arc, Unlimited Blade Works, but prefer to be called Ar-"_

_"That's not what I mean."_

_Now Shirou was standing, looking Archer right in the face. The two were now almost the same height, Archer still having a few centimetres on him. Speaking with a calm tone, Shirou asked again._

_"What are you Archer? Not just as my God Arc, nor as my partner. Why do you look the way you do? Why do you look like me? Why do I look like you? Why have I known what you looked like since that day in the hospital? Why did you take the name Archer? Why are my abilities similar to the man that claimed to be Archer? Please, just tell me."_

_At the deluge of questions, Archer couldn't help but sigh. Nodding to Shirou, he took a step back and sat down. Instead of lying with his back against his blade counterpart, he sat cross-legged, facing Shirou. Shirou did the same. Like this, the similarities between the two became more apparent, especially with the way the two sat, being identical._

_"Hah. Well, I'm not sure where to begin. I am your God Arc, a manifestation of the personality within, born of the connection between you and the Aragami that makes your God Arc. But I've existed longer than the God Arc has, right?"_

_Shirou nodded, offering his own experience with Archer. His early memory of a man with white hair, when he came up with his name. His memory of that same man wielding two swords in a distinctive style. The memory of that man kneeling, speaking fast enough that his words were impossible to understand, except for his final words. And the memory of him, bow in hand, yelling out the name of his arrow._

_Archer looked vaguely uncomfortable at the memories before he just decided to be honest with what he knew._

_"The first thing I remember was suddenly waking up. Here, specifically." He waved his hand around, gesturing to the plain of blades around them. "There were things I did know, and things I didn't. I knew I wasn't a human, but the extension of one. I knew that the two of us were the same, despite being different entities. I knew what you looked like, but not if I looked like you, or you like me. I didn't know what my true form was, but knew it would finish as two blades of black and white."_

_He put his palm on his face and rubbed, trying to make sense of what he did know and what he didn't. Shirou was looking at him, a confused expression on his face. He likely couldn't make heads or tails of it any more than Archer could._

_"I didn't know the name Unlimited Blade Works, but knew Archer. I knew the connotations behind the name, as well as the other classes, but not who was in those classes. It wasn't until you took up your God Arc that I felt a proper connection to you. I could see what you see, hear what you hear, understand what you think. But I wasn't certain how to get you to hear me. Then, you fell into that coma, and I materialized. The four closest to your heart, that could Resonate with you, saw me."_

_A wry smile appeared on Archer's face, remembering the brief but pleasant time he spent with the four. Shaking his head, Archer delivered his answer to the original question._

_"I have been with you since before you had a God Arc. Therefore, I'm not just your God Arc... Do you remember the Bias Factor that Sakaki told you about? The one he said Kiritsugu gave you?"_

_"Yeah. It was classified as Avalon. It was derived from Saber's own Bias Factor, and was intended to give the recipient a healing factor. It rarely worked, instead killing them by causing the body to work too hard, suffering Oracle poisoning. It was a safer version that they had developed but didn't test that I was injected with."_

_Archer nodded. If Avalon was experimental, it would have killed Shirou. And even if it hadn't, it shouldn't have resulted in his existence. It would have only worked if..._

_"Do you know about God Eater children? The children of God Eaters, that end up being born with Oracle Cells. It's possible that you were one as well. That the union of Avalon and your natural Oracle somehow resulted in my birth. But I'm not entirely sure."_

_When he said that, Shirou took on a thoughtful look. What he was told was both confusing and significant, but in the end he only had one question to ask._

_"Why do I have similar abilities to Gilgamesh?"_

_Archer looked surprised, before thinking about it. With a shrug, he answered,_

_"I'm not sure. It likely has something to do with why I was Archer."_

_Archer looked to Shirou to see his reaction. He wasn't expecting the best, after all he mostly gave a bunch of non-answers. But what he did get surprised him. Instead of getting more questions, or a doubtful look, Shirou just shrugged._

_"Alright."_

_"Alright? That's it?"_

_"That's it."_

_A silence spread between the two, mostly because of Archer's own confusion. Eventually, he just gave up with a sigh._

_"I suppose I should have expected that. You are quite trusting, Shirou Emiya. That can be dangerous."_

_"It can, but why wouldn't I trust you? You're my partner, aren't you?"_

_The simple reasoning halted whatever response Archer would have given. Before long, he began to laugh. It was a nice laugh, right from the diaphragm. Shirou looked vaguely insulted. When Archer stopped laughing, he looked to Shirou's face, set in an almost-pout and laughed some more. Eventually, when he was done, he smiled at Shirou and said three simple words._

_"Thank you, Shirou."_

_The expression stunned Shirou. It was similar to the one he saw on Kiritsugu's face, all those years ago. Not just that, but being thanked, not just as a nameless saviour but as himself. Being thanked as Shirou Emiya. Something stung at his eyes, but he ignored it and smiled at Archer._

_"You're welcome, Archer."_

_Just then, Shirou became illuminated, before a flash of light appeared. As Shirou felt himself awaken, he heard one last message from his partner._

_"See you later, Shirou."_

_Looking up with a satisfied smile, Archer watched as the plains around him shifted. The sky became an even brighter blue, the various gears in the sky turning faster as if oiled. Looking to the floor, he saw the grass become a fuller green, and more lush. Not just that. It seemed to overtake the sand that made up the rest of the plain, leaving a few patches._

_Where Shirou sat on the hill, there was only a small amount of sand remaining, just enough to make a circle as wide as a person. Archer sighed, before smiling once more._

_"It's a step in the right direction."_

* * *

Opening his eyes, Shirou was greeted by the sight of an off-green ceiling. The shuffling to his left alerted him to the presence of others. Looking over, he saw Saber and Rin, with Rin covered in a few bandages, Illya sitting in a wheelchair with Sakura behind her, and Sakaki, standing there with clipboard in hand. The sound of him looking over must have been louder than he thought, as the group of people within turned to him at once, shocked.

As Shirou slowly pushed himself up, the occupants of the room moved closer to him. But they seemed hesitant on something. Before Shirou could ask what was wrong, he felt something make its way down his cheek. Touching it, he drew his hand away to see what it was, only for his fingers to be wet.

"Shirou, are you..."

It was Sakaki that spoke. His expression was particularly one of concern. The reason was clear. He may not have known Shirou for as long as Sakura or Taiga, but he did know from his talks with Kiritsugu that Shirou wasn't the sort to do such a thing.

It was an odd realization for Shirou. He was crying. The last time he cried was when Kiritsugu died, and even then it wasn't much. Not only was he crying, his face couldn't resist the smile that was breaking through. Looking away from the others in embarrassment, he coughed into his fist, before looking back.

"Ah, sorry. I'm back."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, stuff happened. Gil dealt with (for now), answers given, more stuff that I will probably never explain being said, and I feel great. **

**I also name dropped Avalon (the more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?) and let Shirou be happy. I wonder if that happiness will persist. Ah well, I'll find out next week.**

**Thank you to RandoFox for favouriting the story.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 4102**


	40. Looks Like Angra Did Come In Handy

It was the day after the battle with the self-proclaimed king, Gilgamesh. Shirou was standing in front of Sakaki's lab, prepared to recount the events of the battle and answer any questions. He had questions he wanted answered as well. Another part of him, a much smaller part, was wondering what the Operation should be called, seeing as he had a hand in naming, and writing, the reports for others.

They would have held the meeting the day before, but everyone restricted Shirou from getting out of bed, worried for his health. Even if he had a great healing factor, his sudden crying brought his condition into question. Despite explaining, without any mention of Archer, why he was crying, they still kept him in bed. Now fully rested, Shirou was prepared for whatever was thrown at him.

As the door slid open, Shirou saw Sakaki at his desk, Saber and Rin sitting adjacent to him with a third seat between them. The three looked over at the sound of the door opening, and smiled when they saw it was Shirou. They all said hello, with Sakaki directing Shirou to the spare seat. Doing as directed, Shirou gave his own greetings before waiting for Sakaki. Looking down to his tablet, he began.

"Now that we're all here, let's begin. Yesterday, the three of you went on an operation to clear out an influx of Aragami in the Wailing Plains. The reason for the operation was because of the potential for the Aragami to migrate towards Fenrir Headquarters, as they had been detected migrating in this direction for the past few days," looking up from the tablet, Sakaki continued with a tone of confusion. "Despite it being a literal Aragami den, only the three of you were sent, with the allotted reason being... training?"

Looking up, Sakaki waited for an answer to his unasked question. It was Rin that responded.

"Shirou had come to the two of us to ask about Oracle control. He had recently been developing a combo attack that involved manipulating his Oracle into extensions of his God Arcs, but he had issue keeping it stable. So, we decided to take on a mission to get him to practice while we offer advice. We picked that mission because it offered the greatest time limit and the most practice dummies."

Ignoring her referral to the Aragami as 'practice dummies', Sakaki asked what really confused him.

"Okay but, how did you convince Hibari to let just the three of you participate in the operation?"

A wicked giggle, not unlike that of a witch, was his reply. "I have my ways." Behind her smile every bit as wicked as her giggle, Rin was actually sweatdropping at how easy it was to bribe Hibari. Who would have thought that the main Operator for the Far East Branch was such a stressed woman?

Masking his curiosity (and discomfort) Sakaki coughed into his fist before continuing.

"According to Hibari, the three of you had just defeated the remaining Aragami when a sudden influx of readings appeared, all of them moving in your direction. Just as suddenly, they all disappeared. Hibari gave you one last warning before going radio silent. She apparently attempted to contact you soon after, but received no response. It was only after the conflict when her call was answered with a request for aid."

Leaning forward with his hands clasped, Sakaki finally asked the core question.

"What happened after Hibari turned off the radio?"

Once more, silence greeted his question. This time it was Shirou that answered.

"When Hibari turned off the radio, we waited for whatever killed those Aragami. A dead Quadriga came flying off of the cliff, and then a man walked to the edge. He was blond, and wearing golden armour. He introduced himself as... Archer. The last Prototype God Eater."

He gave Sakaki a look. Sakaki sighed before divulging what he knew.

"The Far East Branch wasn't responsible for the development of the Archer. The development of the Prototypes is shared by Branches worldwide, with our results all being collated by the core of Fenrir. The one we most recently handled was the Assassin, but that didn't pan out. Ignoring you, of course, Shirou. If my memory serves, the most recent Archer was made by the Middle East Branch."

Before he could continue, the three interrupted him.

"**What do you mean, ignoring Shirou**/me?"

Sakaki blinked at the synchronised question, before giving a brief answer.

"That Armlet on your wrist is proof of your status as a Prototype God Eater. Even without that, your unique ability to manipulate your God Arcs and your ability to wield other God Arcs would have pegged you as one."

As Shirou digested that, Sakaki asked what was on his mind.

"What did the supposed Archer do? What was he capable of?"

Before Shirou could answer, Saber beat him to the punch, speaking up.

"The 'Archer'", she said with distaste, "had the ability to create and manipulate blades of Oracle at will. Instead of manifesting as Oracle, they instead took on a more solid form, appearing as strips of metal."

Putting his hand to his chin, Sakaki thought on that. The abilities of this supposed Archer sounds suspiciously similar to Shirou's own, but there are a few more questions he would like to ask.

"What happened to the Archer?"

Shirou looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"I... I uh... I may have cut his arm off. The arm with the armlet."

Sakaki blinked. That was... unexpectedly brutal. He would have never taken Shirou for the dismemberment type, even if it was a fair option. Shaking his head, Sakaki asked the other question he had.

"If you cut off his arm, then does that mean the God Arc we recovered was his?"

Shirou tilted his head at that, while Saber and Rin both nodded. They went on to explain that his God Arc was formed from a combination of his energy and several of his produced blades. Sakaki found this intriguing, but maybe not impossible. If the God Arc itself was made of Oracle, then it wouldn't be impossible for him to siphon it into blades. But how could they make a God Arc entirely of Oracle? That would involve--

Before Sakaki could go too deep into unravelling the mysteries of the bizarre God Arc, he was asked a strange request.

"Would you mind if I resonate with his God Arc?"

Sakaki blinked before nodding. Honestly, he was going to ask Shirou if he would, but this saves him time. Standing, he gestured for the trio to follow him to the God Arc Research Bay.

* * *

Within a chamber that had slowly become familiar to him, Shirou stood in front of Gilgamesh's God Arc. Looking to his left, he saw Sakaki, Rin, Saber, and one of the Engineers standing behind a glass panel. The Engineer was someone he was vaguely familiar with, having met her when he first had his God Arc. She also apparently had a hand in fixing his God Arc.

The crackle of an intercom brought him back to the situation at hand.

"Okay, Shirou. Just like previously, take the God Arc and resonate with it. While you do, we'll keep an eye on your vitals."

Shirou nodded, feeling the resistance of the nodes on his body as he did. Slowly, he reached out his hand and grabbed the God Arc's hilt. There was incredible pain, and a burning through his skin, much more than normal, but he focused on the Oracle flowing through him, focused as it flowed through the God Arc, felt as it was stopped at every turn, and then felt as it slipped past the opposing Oracle and reached the core.

_Suddenly, he was within his infinite plain of blades. But something was off. Instead of being on his hill, he was somewhere deep in the plains. Not just that. He wasn't anywhere near sand or grass. He was in the centre of the blank part of his world. Around him were hunks of metal, and the sky was black and empty. But he wasn't alone. The shifting of _whatever _they were standing on proved that. Turning, he saw a person, with long green hair going down past their waist, wearing a white poncho that went down to their ankles._

_The figure wasn't obviously male or female (if God Arcs even identified as genders), but was undoubtedly beautiful. Now if only their golden eyes weren't glaring at him with malicious intent. They took a step, before running at him full force. Shirou stepped out of the way in surprise, before looking for a weapon. He wasn't too interested in fighting with his fists, nor was he very experienced, aside from that one time with the Ogretails. But he was out of luck, as the chunks of metal around him didn't seem very wieldable._

_Caught up in his analysis, he didn't notice the kick coming for him until he was on the floor with his side aching. Turning over, he was suddenly straddled by the person, their hair creating an verdant curtain. As such, he was looking right into the person's pale blue eyes. With a snarl, they spoke._

_"Bastard. You bastard. You took my wielder. You bastard!"_

_With a roar, they brought a fist crashing down on Shirou's face. Beyond the stinging pain, there was suddenly a buzzing in Shirou's head. _

* * *

The God Arc was forged alongside several others, with the intention of being the strongest of its kind, for the strongest wielders-- **Stolen, taken from a lab, patched together experimental technology, bonded to _him_. **

* * *

_"Aah!"_

_The God Arc reared back, hands clutching their head as they cried in pain. Shirou, ignoring the buzz that turned into an ache, launched his head forward, catching them on the nose, launching them off him. _

* * *

The first time it was held by its wielder, the wielder was young, 15 years old, and hardly screamed, despite the painful process of-- **Standing in flames, he took the deal with the devil, his dead eyes shining in the light.**

He was a Prototype God Eater, designated as Archer-- **Taking on the name, seeking power to never again ****be as pathetic as he was.**

When the three-bangled Armlet, reminiscent of a handcuff, was attached to him, he was congratulated on his surviving the experiment. He was proud, smiling widel-- **A hollow feeling, and a promise. A double-edged euphoria for his newfound power filling him. **

* * *

_"You... son of a bitch."_

_Rolling on their back, the person slowly pushed themself up, a grimace on their face. Shirou did the same, but faster. By the time they stood up, Shirou had tackled them down, holding their wrists far away from him. With a deep breath, he asked,_

_"Who are you?"_

_The God Arc only growled, something akin to "Fuck you" coming from them, before they started tugging their wrists, trying to escape Shirou's grasp. Shirou sighed before asking again, this time with more force._

_"Who are you!?"_

_The struggling only intensified, and Shirou just sighed again. He wasn't sure what he should do. It wasn't in his nature to force information out of people, nor was it to hurt them without purpose. I wish Archer was here, Shirou thought to himself. Suddenly, the struggling below him ceased. Looking down, he saw that the person had just given up. They were just lying there staring straight up, their eyes having gone dull and blue. They whispered something, and Shirou had to strain his ears to catch it._

_"...why?"_

_Shirou had an idea of what they were asking, but wanted them to say it first. So, he gave them some prompting._

_"Why what?"_

_Looking to Shirou, some of the anger returned to their eyes, but it just as quickly faded. Louder this time, they asked a reasonable question._

_"Why did you __take me from him?"_

_Shirou blinked. He expected a question on why he killed Gilgamesh, not why he separated the God Arc from the wielder. Taking a breath, he answered with something that was admittedly cruel, but a fair question._

_"Why do you care? He's already dead, isn't he?"_

_Immediately, he felt them stiffen, and wondered if he said the wrong thing. The sinking feeling in his gut seemed to point to that being the case. __But instead of anger, or anything explosive, they just looked Shirou dead in the eye._

_"He's not dead."_

_Shirou paused. He paused so hard, that even the gears turning in the distant sky stopped for a moment. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. How could he not be dead? He doesn't have an Armlet anymore. At worst, he'd turn into an Aragami. So Shirou said the only thing appropriate._

_"What."_

_Their expression didn't change in the slightest, but Shirou couldn't help but feel there was amusement in their eyes. Suddenly, a shock seemed to course through him. He seized up, and without any prompting of his own, closed his eyes._

When he opened his eyes, he was back in the lab. Only, his right arm felt like it had been bitten to hell, and he was being pulled away from Gilgamesh's God Arc. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a strangled cough. Coughing some more to clear his throat, Shirou watched as Engineers walked into the room and began to do something to the table the God Arc was on. Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Shirou looked over to see Sakaki, gesturing for him to follow.

* * *

"What happened?"

Within the observation room, Shirou sat while everyone looked at him with some measure of concern. He was looking at Sakaki, waiting for an answer to his question. Sakaki looked at Shirou before answering.

"Your readings started to go beyond acceptable levels. We pulled you out. The most curious part was how the God Arc seemed to attempt to Devour you, but stopped partway up your arm. It let go when we pulled you away, however. Now, can you tell me what you learnt?"

Shirou nodded at the information before giving a shrug at the question, looking away and scratching his cheek.

"I-uh-didn't learn much. I don't even know the God Arc's name." He wondered on whether he should mention the strange memories he saw, the ones that seemed like they were covered over, but decided to keep it to himself. Adopting a serious expression, he fave the more important piece of news. "But, according to the God Arc, Gilgamesh is still alive."

At that, Sakaki blinked in confusion, while Saber and Rin looked over in shock. Shirou was confused by Sakaki's confusion, before realizing why.

"Gilgamesh was the name of the God Arc's wielder."

Hearing that, Sakaki made an expression of understanding, before immediately going to thinking. While that was happening Rin seemed to be freaking out a bit. Mostly a lot of mutterings of "How can that be?" and "People die when they are killed." Shirou wasn't sure about that second one, but Sakaki seemed to be done thinking.

"It is possible," he brought a finger up to his glasses, pushing them up, "that Gilgamesh has turned into an Aragami. It's not unheard of for God Arcs to still carry a connection with their God Eaters, even after becoming Aragami."

Shirou nodded, seeing the merit in the hypothesis. But, even with the logical explanation, Shirou couldn't help feeling as if that wasn't the case. It was something in the way the God Arc acted, and the impression Gilgamesh left on him. With a sigh, Shirou decided to shelve the thought and find a way to talk to Illya later. And come up with a name for the Operation.

* * *

The pain from his arm was the first thing he was aware of. After that, it was the discomfort of his position, unworthy of a King such as him. That damn Kirei should know his place by now. For he was the unbeaten Ki-- Wait. That's right. He was beaten. Beaten by that _damn Faker!_

Forcing his eyes open, he could only see shades of dark grey, his vision blurring. Letting out a groan, he tried to push himself off the floor, only to lose his balance and fall onto his side. A grunt of pain left him as he attempted to push himself back to a seating position. As he did, his attention was drawn to his right arm.

"What the--"

Instead of the bloody stump that should've been there, or even his whole arm that he had hoped was still there, what he got didn't make sense. It was black, and seemed to shift, and _burnt_. Something deep within him, a part of himself he locked away, recognised it, and was reviled by it. The 'arm' continued all the way up to his shoulder, far beyond where the Faker had cut him.

As he investigated his replaced appendage, the sound of footsteps echoed. A deep chuckle followed, one that was annoyingly familiar. Looking up with a glare, Gilgamesh saw Kirei looking down on him, a sinister smile stretched across his face. Before Gilgamesh could say anything, Kirei mocked him.

"Oh? Is the King kneeling before a mongrel such as I? How interesting."

Gilgamesh would have given a retort, but the burning in his right arm pushed him to more pressing concerns. Clenching his teeth, Gilgamesh hissed out,

"What is this?"

"What is what, my King?"

The smile on his face only widened as Gilgamesh's anger grew. Gesturing to his right 'arm', he asked again.

"This. What is _this_?"

"Why, my King, this is the solution to your problem. Do you not remember?"

At the confused expression on Gilgamesh's face, Kirei's smile once more got wider, impossibly so. He then began to explain how he came across Gilgamesh in the forest, as he had decided to leave for the Far East Branch early. Gilgamesh was on the cusp of death and muttering about a damned Faker. Kirei, 'faithful follower' that he is (Kirei's words), helped Gilgamesh by giving him a new arm.

"But this is the arm of a beast!"

"Yes, but it can also be the arm of a King. A King that conquered beasts, and uses their powers for his own reasons. Does that not appeal to you?"

Gilgamesh couldn't disagree with that. This was the potential for more power, to rule over all. It physically pained him to agree with Kirei on any point that he makes, so he opted for stoic silence. Kirei saw it as sulking. With one last chuckle, he put one hand to his chest and his other was gesturing behind him.

"Well then, my King. Shall we see what you can do with this newfound power?"

Gilgamesh couldn't be happier to oblige. Unless it involved killing the Faker.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, oh God my mind.**

**First I had an epiphany on how my characters are barely who they should be, that I'm just writing my own characters with the appearance of other characters. I'm basically playing dress-up with words. This seemed to drag on my ability to write for a day.**

**Second, I'm kinda upset with this. I'm just writing to bridge my ideas, and I know I don't do it well. I seem to have an easier time writing a fight scene, honestly.**

**Don't worry. Hibari just got like a bottle of sake or something. Maybe a pass to the local hot spring.**

**Thank you to , Lucifer's Remnants, xMetalOverlordx, and DebraLove for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3120**


	41. Rushing, Right Off A Cliff

**Note: I made a slight amendment to the last chapter about eye colour, just to make this make more sense.**

* * *

_"Hah. What are you doing back here?"_

_The green-haired person was talking to the sudden arrival, Shirou Emiya. Otherwise known as their jail keeper. Shirou just chuckled, scratching the back of his head._

_"Sorry. Guess I just wanted to know more about you."_

_"To use me against my King? Not going to happen."_

_Shirou's eyes widened at that, before he nodded. Of course the God Arc would be aware of what was meant to be happening here. Heracles' God Arc did. And Excalibur certainly seemed to get the idea. Sitting down, and feeling the white sand(?) shift under him, he gestured for the God Arc to take a seat, patting the ground next to him. They looked at Shirou, something that Shirou could only describe as an annoyed pout (and that was only because he had seen a similar expression on Rin and Illya) gracing their face. Seeming to come to a decision, they sat down cross-legged, opposite to Shirou._

_As they sat together, an awkward silence seemed to permeate. The green-haired figure seemed fine, almost emotionless with their eyes closed, but Shirou could feel the sweat dropping off his face. After a while, Shirou coughed into his hand._

_"So... you seem much calmer than yesterday."_

_"Mmm."_

_"Is there... Is there a reason for that?"_

_"Mmm."_

_"Can you... tell me the reason?"_

_"Mmm."_

_The sweat only seemed to drop faster as Shirou waited for the God Arc to elaborate. Eventually, they opened their blue eyes and spoke in a monotone._

_"I was just a bit upset that you took me away from my King. That's all."_

_"No no. That was _definitely _more than just a bit upset."_

_"No, just a bit."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_Once more, the silence permeated, although Shirou felt a measure less awkward than he did before. Instead of pressing the issue, and igniting the potential for another brawl to break out (which might be a useful thing considering the memories he saw last time), he decided to ask a markedly different but still important question._

_"What's your name?"_

_"..."_

_They ignored him, but he pressed on._

_"I would like to at least know your name. It would be much easier than thinking of you as 'the green-haired person' or 'Gilgamesh's God Arc'."_

_"..."_

_They remained silent, but Shirou could see their mouth start to twitch, and hoped it was a sign of their failing will. He then prepared the finishing blow._

_"If it makes it easier for you, you can give me a fake name. I'm just desperate for something to call you."_

_He could see their eyes widen and look at him in his approximation of shock, before it reverted back to an expression of indifference. A few seconds passed before they answered._

_"Enkidu. That's what you can call me."_

_"Enkidu? Huh. I suppose that works. Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Just like the stories."_

_They... No, Enkidu looked up at that._

_"Stories?"_

_"Yeah. Apparently, the oldest story in the world. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Following the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and his best friend Enkidu."_

_Enkidu seemed surprised, but there was a slight smile on their face, and the air around them just felt significantly happier. Another silence, but this one wasn't awkward. Instead it was peaceful. The two just sat silently, enjoying the atmosphere. But it was Enkidu that broke the silence._

_"When he was younger, my King... Gil, used to read stories. A few years ago, he found a story when he was out fighting. I don't remember much, but I remember something he said. 'When will I meet my Enkidu?'"_

_Shirou was interested. He had to stop himself from laughing when he heard Gilgamesh referred to as Gil, but he hadn't thought that there was any depth to the arrogant King he had fought. Maybe he was wrong. It's understandable, actually. Even monsters were people once. Something brought them to the conclusion they reached, and while villains should be held accountable for their crimes, they should still be remembered as people, by someone._

_This train of thought made him contemplate Zouken and Jubstacheit. While they both did terrible things, they seemed to have a reason behind it. Shirou had met Zouken, and knew that he could act as a kindly grandfather. But he tried to justify what he had done to Shirou, before saying he forgot the reason. He couldn't say the same for Jubstacheit, having never met him before that day. But considering what Illya had said about him, he probably wasn't a nice person. However, he also had a motivation for his actions. _

_The documents that Rin brought back to the Den revealed research on how to increase longevity of artificial beings, and even allow them to reproduce. He apparently only had a single success, being Illya's mother, Irisviel. Alongside his research, it also held his own notes, similar to journal entries. In the end, he just didn't want his family to die out, and he didn't want to be alone. Ultimately, while the two of them were villains, they weren't absolute evil._

_That made Shirou wonder. Was there even such a thing as absolute evil? Was there such a thing as absolute good? Maybe not. Maybe there isn't black and white, just shades of grey. Did Kiritsugu come to think of any of this on his journey as a Hero of Justice? Did I even still care to become a Hero of Justice?_

_Yes. No matter what, yes. Saving someone can't be wrong. But, if I've failed, then can I call myself a Hero of Justice? If I couldn't save everyone, am I worthy? Kiritsugu also failed... Is that why he said it _used _to be his dream? I don't know..._

_Shirou's silence caught Enkidu's attention, having expected him to say something. Instead they saw Shirou staring into space, his eyes holding a forlorn look. The expression caught them off guard. Aside from not expecting it, the expression also reminded Enkidu of how they had been feeling the day before, at the thought of being apart from their King. Not wanting to see the expression, Enkidu coughed into their hand to catch Shirou's attention. Seeing Shirou look to them, Enkidu was pleased by the success._

_"I met your God Arc recently."_

_Shirou's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened._

_"Really? When?"_

_Pushing down the desire to laugh, Enkidu answered._

_"A while after you left. He came walking across the plain, just appearing suddenly. He stood out quite a bit. When he came upon me, he asked me who I was and what you and I were talking about. I could see it in his eyes. He was worried for you."_

_Shirou just chuckled at the description of Archer._

_"Actually, the two of you look quite similar."_

_Shirou just chuckled a bit harder. While Enkidu wasn't wrong, it's just funny how much more accurate it is now. Since the fight with Gilgamesh where he kept practicing Oracle control and forced his Oracle blades to explode, and the first time he tried Resonating with Enkidu, the Oracle Cell Erosion had spread further across his body._

_It had covered all of his chest and back, as well as his neck. His entire right arm had gone tan as well, save for his shoulder. Alongside that, it had spread up his face, leaving only his right ear and the skin around his right eye their original colour. His hair was similar, having become a mostly stark white with the original chilli red being only above his right eye, which retained its gold colour._

_Done laughing, Shirou responded._

_"Yeah, I guess we do look similar. Just a bit."_

_Hearing that last bit, Enkidu reused the annoyed pout from earlier. Once more, Shirou began laughing. And so it continued. The two conversed within the white nothingness, surrounded by hunks of metal underneath a pure black sky. And slowly, reluctantly on Enkidu's part, a bond was formed. _

_"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. My name is Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you."_

* * *

Shirou opened his eyes, to see himself once again back in the real world. Like yesterday, he was in the God Arc Research Bay, and just like yesterday, Engineers swarmed the table Enkidu was on to take it away. Shirou was then led into a sideroom where he discussed his findings with Sakaki, alongside Rin and Saber who came out of worry.

Unfortunately he didn't have much to tell, just some stuff about Gilgamesh when he was younger (Shirou accidentally called him Gil a few times, to Rin's amusement) and that the God Arc was called Enkidu, but that was unlikely as Shirou offered it the option to give a fake name. This caught him some flak from Rin and Saber, and he was hard pressed to explain why. Luckily, Sakaki got him out of the tough spot by musing on the name Enkidu like Shirou did.

Eventually, they all moved on to their days, Shirou deciding to visit Illya again.

But the bad feeling from yesterday didn't dissipate.

* * *

Out in the forest, a boulder exploded. To the casual observer, it just suddenly went bang in a cloud of dust. To the more advanced observer, they may have noticed the flash of light on something black before the explosion. To the blond that just blew up the boulder, he saw _power_. Gilgamesh looked down at his _horrid _right arm, and smiled in equal parts glee and anger.

Looking to the right of the boulder he just destroyed, he saw a slowly approaching beast. With a sneer, he waved his right arm, and out of it came small balls of the same black substance that made his hand. Clenching his fist, the balls then flattened out, transforming into blades that exuded malice. Reopening his hand, the blades flew into the foul beast, tearing it apart.

As the beast fell, Gilgamesh turned and walked away from the pathetic creature. But, his attention was drawn to a feeling in his right arm. Aside from the burning pain which had dulled significantly, there was now a feeling as if something was... growing. Looking over to the felled beast, he saw it start to disintegrate into black. But instead of that fading into the ether, the black seemed to be drawn into the black blades embedded in the grown. They were absorbed into the blades, and then the blades reverted back to balls, and flew into his arm.

He was overtaken by the overwhelming feeling of _power _that flowed from his arm and into him. Without realizing, he began to smile, his canines being exposed as he looked to Kirei who smiled back in a less overt but no less frightening manner.

* * *

_"Does Gilgamesh have a wish?"_

_The question surprised Enkidu, purely because it came out of left field. Looking over to Shirou, who was in a cross-legged position, they saw nothing out of the ordinary about him. He was just looking upwards with his eyebrows drawn. Giving a shrug, Enkidu answered._

_"I'm not sure. I mean, he doubtless has a wish, all humans do, but he hasn't said anything about it."_

_"Huh..."_

_A silence briefly descended before it was broken by a counter-question from Enkidu._

_"Why did you ask?"_

_"Hm? Oh, no reason. It's just... The more I hear about him, the more similarities I see between us. That's all."_

_"..."_

_A frosty silence suddenly enveloped the duo. Shirou looked over to Enkidu, eyes wide, as they stood up. Their fists were clenched and they were slightly shaking._

_"No..."_

_Shirou slowly stood up, keeping his hands in front of him, palms forward. Enkidu barely noticed, clenching their jaw tight. Their head was turned downward, hiding their eyes._

_"You're... You're not like him..."_

_Impossibly, their palms started bleeding from how hard they were clenching their fist. With a howl, they looked back up to Shirou, their blue eyes suddenly a harsh gold not unlike his own._

_"You're not like my King!"_

_Enkidu rushed forward, both hands reaching out for Shirou's neck. Shirou stepped back, away from Enkidu's grasp._ _Enkidu attempted another attack, and Shirou dodged. This dance continued on. Shirou was hesitant to attack Enkidu, mostly due to the bond between the two. It only took a few more attacks before Shirou actively considered it. After all, if he hits Enkidu, then maybe he can bring them back to their senses. He also might be able to gather more information. _

_Committing, he moved towards Enkidu. He brought up his arm to block a swipe from Enkidu, then clocked them in the face with the other. Then a pain echoed through his head. _

* * *

The first time the God Arc tasted blood, Archer had taken it out on a simple mission. It was in the Infernal Subway, and he was facing a Quadriga. With a wave of his hand, segments poured forth from his God Arc and pierced through the tough Front Armour, breaking the bond and soaking in-- **Soaking in the blood that almost coated the streets and rubble, whatever blood that hadn't cooked inside of the corpses were out here. His white sneakers were stained red, and the teenage boy could only see the beast that caused all this and the devil promising him power.**

* * *

_"Tch!"_

_Shirou shook his head and looked over to Enkidu, to see if they were back to normal. If the way they wiped their chin and looked back up with a glare was any indication, they were not. Letting out a sigh, Shirou put up what he thought was a basic fighting stance. Feet shoulder-width apart, and fists in front of his face. Then he held out his hand and made a gesture he saw in a 'karate' movie Kota made him watch, and smirked, taunting Enkidu. They let out a slight growl before running towards Shirou again._

_This time however, instead of attempting to strangle Shirou, Enkidu kept on swiping at Shirou, mixing it up with some spinning kicks. It was one such attack, a vertical downward kick, that broke through Shirou's guard. Taking the opportunity, Enkidu shoulder-barged Shirou to push him over, before straddling him. Once again, the two were in the same position as the last time they fought._ _Immediately, they brought both their fists up before bringing them down in a hammerblow__. Shirou couldn't dodge in time and took the full blow. Alongside the pain emanating from his nose, the headache from earlier intensified as well._

* * *

The first time the God Arc felt content, was when its wielder said its name for the first time. Archer smiled upon it after a successful mission-- **The teenage boy looked down on it with an emotionless gaze, a kindling of feeling hiding within-- **H**e** r**a**i**s**e**d** t**h**e **b**l**a**d**e** u**p**w**a**r**d**s **a**n**d** s**m**i**l**e**d**\-- A dazzling smile of hope and joy-- **A jagged smile of despair and rage-- **a**n**d **c**a**l**l**e**d **o**u**t** t**h**e **G**o**d** A**r**c'**s** n**a**m**e**.

"E**a**!**!**"

* * *

_Shirou was clenching his nose, trying to realign it after the hammerblow. As the headache passed, he saw Enkidu pause, looking down on him with his former blue eyes._

_"So... you heard it.."_

_Their eyes were slightly dull, and seemed to hold something like sadness. Shirou tried to croak out a response._

_"E--"_

* * *

* * *

_But suddenly his eyes were forced closed._

* * *

And his eyes opened again in the Research Bay. The Engineers came, and he spoke with Sakaki. He mentioned the true name of the God Arc and said that he was fine, rubbing his nose as he did, before quickly ending the conversation. There were some things that he felt he needed to think about regarding Enkidu. Or rather, Ea.

The bad feeling only grew.

* * *

Gilgamesh let out a sigh of content, walking away from a pile of dead beasts that were slowly turning into the black 'mud'. As the 'mud' made its way into his arm, Gilgamesh released another sigh before making his way towards Kirei. The duo had been making progress towards the mongrel's den, with Kirei's supposed 'challenge fit for a King' in tow. Along the way, Gilgamesh had been slaying beasts with his new foul arm, getting used to it and increasing in power.

He made his way to where Kirei was waiting, a small clearing in the forest. He was hunched over the catalyst for the Beast, tinkering with it. At the sound of Gilgamesh's footsteps, Kirei looked up and smiled, standing to his full height.

"It is good to see you, my King. I take it you have gotten used to your arm?"

"Hmph. Of course I have, Kirei. For I am the greatest King!"

"I see... Have you tried summoning it?"

"Heh. Obviously. Now, feast your eyes, Kirei!"

With a thrust of his hand, several black orbs came forth from his arm, floating around. The orbs then began spinning around his arm, faster and faster, before a red energy began to surround them. Faster and faster still, they spun before a flash of light blew through the clearing. When the light cleared, Gilgamesh could be seen with a black weapon in hand. It was cylindrical, with red lines running up and down it. He raised the 'God Arc' to the sky and smirked, confidence emanating from his gaze.

"Ea."

* * *

_His arrival was greeted with silence. Looking over, he saw them sitting with their knees drawn to their chest, making themselves seem scarce. It would work if not for the blanket of green hair they had__, drawing his attention. Walking over, Shirou tried to get their attention. A light cough in his hand, snapping his fingers, even outright saying "Excuse me." But nothing he tried got a response._

_Taking a seat opposite them, Shirou decided to try and broach the more important topic at hand, and likely the reason behind their silence._

_"So... Ea, huh?"_

_"..."_

_Smooth, Shirou. Real smooth. Shaking his head from the self-deprecating thoughts, Shirou pursued the topic. Not just about their name, but about Gilgamesh's memories in general._

_"Listen... We need to talk. About Gilgamesh. And about you."_

_"..."_

_"I think... there are two layers to the memories I'm getting from you. One that you want to believe: the memories of 'Enkidu'. And the memories that are true: those of 'Ea'."_

_"..."_

_The atmosphere seemed to still, tension growing. Ea started shaking, and Shirou knew he must have hit a nerve. Before another fight could break out, Shirou kept talking._

_"The way you seem to change at the drop of a hat, from calm to enraged, whenever I start digging adds to my point. The calm, blue-eyed Enkidu, fond of their wielder Gil._

_And the enraged, golden-eyed Ea, fiercely loyal to his King."_

_The tension grew worse, as well as Ea's shaking. Slowly, they began to stand up. Shirou just continued speaking._

_"Aside from that, the memories concern me. Ignoring the fake memories, which themselves had parts of the truth mixed in, it's the real memories that I care for. That scene he was in... I recognise it. Of course. How could I forget it?" His eyes turned to steel, his tone cold. The change was swift enough to stall Ea, for a moment. "That scene... those flames... those were the flames that I came from. If that's the case," Shirou looked into Ea's eyes, "then he, too, was a survivor of the Great Fire. Right?"_

_Ea was just standing there, staring at Shirou. Then they moved forward one step. Then another. Slowly, Ea walked towards the seated Shirou. And slowly, they started shaking. First, a slight quake in the shoulders, then shaking all over. As they stopped in front of Shirou, he asked one last thing._

_"Who are you, really?"_

_"..."_

_Shirou continued looking at Ea's face, even as something wet slowly began falling onto his face. The drops were coming from Ea, twin trails running down their face. The shaking spread to their jaws, and a whimpering could be heard._

_"I..."_

_Their eyes were wet, the ethereal light of the surroundings lighting them up._

_"I don't..."_

_Their blue left eye..._

_"I don't know..."_

_And their golden right eye._

_"I don't know!"_

_Ea fell to their knees before Shirou, crying out their sorrows. Shirou looked on, and felt pity well up on him. Not just pity, but sympathy. After all, his own identity has come into question a few times. But now wasn't the time for that._

_"Here."_

_Shirou offered his hand. Ea looked at it, sniffling, before looking up to Shirou for confirmation. When Shirou nodded, Ea looked back to the hand before slowly bringing forth their own. When the two's hands were clasped, Shirou began focusing on his Oracle. His plan was simple. Cause a Resonance to occur. But instead of Shirou seeing their memories, he was trying to get Ea to see his. After all, Resonance was traditionally a two-way street._

_He followed the Oracle as it flowed through him and into the world around him. Then he followed it as it entered into Ea, leading to their 'core'. Following, from his 'core' to his hand, Shirou tugged the energy through Ea and into him, connecting the two in a two-way Resonance. Then, slowly, they both closed their eyes, and let the memories flow. _

* * *

The God Arc was just a regular God Arc, made for a regular God Eater. It was a yellow Knife type God Arc, a Spark Drill. Apparently, they had an influx of Aragami materials at the time, and offered free upgrades to new God Eaters. But regardless of its lackluster appearance or lack of unique functions, its wielder still found joy in it. He named it Enkidu, as it would always be his closest friend.

The God Arc first tasted blood on a regular mission, in a team of four. As the newbie, its wielder was tasked with fighting Ogretails that got past the more experienced God Eater's defence. He was scared, but he wanted to become someone great. Become like the heroes he read of in the stories he heard about.

The God Arc never truly felt anything, but if it could describe a feeling, it would be content. Content that the wielder named and cared for it, content that the wielder trusted it. Once, its wielder tried to strike a conversation with the God Arc, despite not being able to respond. The God Arc took special note of what its wielder told it to refer to him as. Gil.

* * *

The God Arc felt despair when Gil fell into despair. When Gil was surrounded by flames and bodies, and was unable to save anyone, he despaired. A hero should gave been able to save someone. What was he, then, but a failure, if he, as a hero of the people, couldn't save anyone? The sound of rubble shifting drew his attention. A faint hope in his heart that maybe he can save someone, was soon extinguished when he saw the expression on the person's face.

It was a dark, twisted smile, as if he was enjoying what he saw. As if the suffering of everyone around him was music to his ears. Looking over, the man noticed Gil and made his way over, ignoring the bodies and blood littering the floor. Looking down at Gil's expression of despair, his smile seemed to widen further. Then he offered his hand and asked a question that would change everything.

"Would you like to become powerful?"

* * *

**The God Arc was made from an old Knife God Arc and Prototype parts, which had been scavenged from a deserted laboratory. It was made for the person before it, the person that would be its King. When it was handed to him, bonded to him for the rest of his days, he held it up to the sky and smiled.**

**"Ea."**

* * *

* * *

**That night, it was given a name, and that night, the God Arc offered itself wholesale to the King.**

* * *

**On that same night, the God Arc was covered in blood. Not just the blood that laid upon its blade from its creators hands, nor the blood that covered the streets. But also blood from foul beasts that dare challenge its King. When they left the fire, they walked through the land, for three days and three nights, slaying many beasts along the way, until they arrived at a cave. **

* * *

The God Arc felt despair for the second time when it was called Ea for the first time instead of Enkidu. When it was treated not as a partner, but merely as a tool. When it realized it was not held by Gil, but by a cruel King. But it felt true despair, absolute heartbreak, when the wielder once mused to himself about the existence of 'his Enkidu'.

* * *

**The God Arc first felt rage when its King was challenged by a mere mongrel. From the get-go, it tried to destroy the mongrel at every turn, but they always elusively avoided death. The feelings that it sensed from the mongrel's God Arc only fuelled the rage, filling it with confusion **(and jealousy)**.**

**But the God Arc's rage reached new highs when the mongrel hurt the King. Alongside the rage bred bloodthirst, as it fought to end the newly dubbed Faker. But the Faker continued to elude swift death, and instead managed to take the King off guard.** **Then suddenly, the King's arm was severed, as well as the King's connection to the God Arc. **

* * *

For the first time, the God Arc felt hope.** For the first time, the God Arc felt fear. **

* * *

The God Arc was taken from its wielder, and was forced to interact with the wielder's usurper.

**The God Arc fought back, tried to kill the Faker. **The God Arc watched the affair, not daring to truly hope.

The usurper saw some memories, what Enkidu wanted to believe, **what Ea knew to be true, and disappeared.**

**They reappeared again, **and spoke with the God Arc. The God Arc felt interest in the type of person the usurper was, and was given the name Shirou Emiya. The God Arc, in return, gave the name Enkidu. And hope flourished in Enkidu, as the two became closer.

* * *

Shirou returned, but **dared to insinuate that he was in any way similar to the King. The God Arc attempted to punish the usurper for that, but failed, instead giving away its name, Ea. **The God Arc felt despair take its heart as that accursed name passed by its ears, before Shirou disappeared again.

* * *

When Shirou reappeared, he began speaking. On how the God Arc was a fake. **On how the God Arc was real. **On how Gil was but a memory. **On how the King was similar in a twisted way to the usurper.** A**n**d **t**h**e** G**o**d **A**r**c** f**e**l**t** f**e**a**r**.

Fear of being rejected once more, becoming nothing, not even a memory.

**Fear of never fighting alongside its King again, trapped with the usurper.**

"Who are you?"

T**h**e **G**o**d** A**r**c**s** s**c**r**e**a**m**e**d**.

Enkidu **Ea**

The God Arc didn't want to be forgotten. **The God Arc didn't want to give in to the usurper.**

T**h**e **G**o**d** A**r**c **d**i**d**n'**t** w**a**n**t** t**o** h**u**r**t** G**i**l**g**a**m**e**s**h.

**B**u**t** u**l**t**i**m**a**t**e**l**y**...

* * *

_"It's... warm."_

_They looked up at Shirou, a smile peaking through the tears. They were no longer shaking or sniffling, their gaze showing resolve._

_"The warmth of your memories... It's calming."_

_Standing, they tugged Shirou upwards, before looking into the distance. The surroundings changed, until they found themselves on the hill overlooking the unlimited plains. Shirou blinked as they began glowing, before shooting him a look, equal parts a calming silence and a rebellious sneer. But the words were all the same._

_"Thank you, Shirou."_

_A blast of light, and they were gone, leaving Shirou on his lonesome, a slight smile on his face. Somewhere in the plain of blades, an identical copy to both Enkidu and Ea lay impaled in the earth. The sound of grass shifting behind him alerted him to the presence of the only other person ever on this hill. Turning, Shirou greeted him._

_"Hey, Archer."_

_"It's good to see you, Shirou Emiya."_

* * *

* * *

_The two sat back to back on the hill, before they started talking. Mostly about Enkidu and Ea. Archer listened to most of what Shirou had to say, and just reminded him that he didn't have their full loyalty. They would refuse him if he fought Gilgamesh. Shirou knew this and agreed, before the two just enjoyed the other's presence. Then Archer sent Shirou on his way, telling him not to keep them waiting. Another flash of light, and he was gone. There was a little more grass where he had been sitting. _

* * *

Opening his eyes, Shirou smiled lightly, before slowly raising his hand. As he did, the spiral God Arc followed suit, until it was held straight up. A slight whisper passed from Shirou as the blade began to whir.

"Enkidu and Ea."

With a flourish of his hand, the God Arc swung through the air, a stream of swords, no, segments pouring forth. As his heart beat harder, as his smile grew a little wider, he gestured with his off-hand. Swirling his finger, the segments surrounded him in a ring. Raising his hand, they moved upwards. Lowering it, they moved back down. Then, with a flourish in the other direction, the segments dissolved into Oracle.

Turning to the window, Shirou nodded to Sakaki, who was wearing a slight smile highlighted by a few wrinkles. Looking back to the God Arc, Shirou brought it back to the table before letting go and taking a step back.

"Thank you."

He then left the lab, taking a detour to tell Sakaki about what he learned. About a young God Eater that went by Gil, who was there for the Great Fire. About Kirei experimenting on his God Arc, using Prototype parts. When questioned, Sakaki admitted to having more than just parts for the Assassin. They were, in fact, slated to work on the next Archer, but the project was frozen after the Great Fire, the effectiveness of the Far East Branch having come into question.

But after that, Shirou decided to make his way to Illya. It was still a bit early in the day, so he hadn't spoken to her yet. Maybe after this, he could take a mission. Maybe he could do it by itself. It had been a while since he did a solo mission. Today was looking like a good day.

So why was the bad feeling getting worse?

* * *

The sand blowing by was familiar to Gilgamesh. Almost like a 'coming home' of sorts. The walls of the mongrel's Den didn't even look too different to how it had been the last time he saw it (when he was just a scared boy, running from flames and seeking the power to overcome anything). But it was no longer a place he called home. He couldn't even remember the name of the place, the only reminder being what little he deigned to listen to from the Faker.

"Well then, my King."

Behind him, Kirei stopped, looking at the place that he, for a time, called home. He had few fond memories of the place, not that he had any negative ones, but those few memories meant a lot. After all, it was here that he realized his true nature, and caused the Great Fire. Looking behind him, he saw his catalyst for the 'Beast' he promised Gilgamesh safely contained. Looking back to Gilgamesh, and focusing on his right arm, the same as the Angra's body, he smiled, feeling glee. Focusing ahead, he spoke once more.

"I believe it is showtime, my King."

Gilgamesh huffed, before a sharp smirk appeared on his face. Raising his right arm, he summoned his Ea. From the Ea, he produced segments at a much faster rate than he ever could with his God Arc. Then, a slight twitch of his off-hand positioned all the segments in front of the gates. Some commotion could be heard, but Gilgamesh was content to let the mongrels bark for now.

"Prepare for your King's arrival, mongrels."

He thrust forth his hand.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, this is the biggest chapter yet. But, I am a bit off put by how rushed this feels. I did try to elapse three days, after all, but I'm certain I could have made two or three chapters with better pacing.**

**Also, Merry Christmas. Also, Happy New Year. Sorry for forgetting. Also sorry I took so long.**

**In case it wasn't clear, the thoughts in brackets are meant to be traitorous thoughts. Things you can't help but think, and ultimately try to ignore, always there, taunting you.**

**Thank you to vilaverdek6, alatreon56, Reader25846, and davidomega59 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 5205**


	42. Surpassing the Past: Beginning

A tremor ran through the floor, causing everyone to stumble. Then, an alarm started blaring. It was the alarm for an Aragami attack. God Eaters all across the Den made their way to the God Arc Bay, grabbing their God Arcs and communication equipment. The Operators all sat at their various computers, getting ready to direct the God Eaters to their positions, but the readings they received made them still for a moment, before information and instructions began to flow from them.

"Warning! An unknown Aragami has made its way into the Outer Ghetto!"

"So far, it's just the one Aragami, but the north entrance is still wide open!"

"1st and 3rd Unit, prioritize the unknown Aragami! 2nd Unit, prioritize the defence of the Northern entrance!"

Orders flowed as such, with other units being given the job of keeping an eye out across the rest of the Outer Ghetto and evacuating the populace. However, the flow was disrupted by the sudden acclamation of an Operator that was investigating the Aragami through the lens of a security drone.

"Wait! That's not an Aragami, that's a person!"

Everyone connected to the communication network paused. A person? But the readings are that of an unknown Aragami. While everyone was pausing at the conflicting information, there was one God Eater that was quickly making his way outside. Coincidentally, he was also the only God Eater that hadn't picked up their earpiece. Shirou Emiya ran out of the Den as fast as he could. The longer he waited, the more likely someone could get hurt.

As he made his way out of the Den, and into the dusty streets of the Outer Ghetto, what struck him was how loud it was. It was different to when the Aragami broke through years ago. Instead of most people already being evacuated, meaning it was fairly quiet aside from the sounds of battle, people were running, calling for others, and crying in the case of children. So, accompanied by the cacophony of sound, Shirou ran towards the North entrance, marked by clouds of dust still hanging in the air.

Of course, when he arrived at the Northern entrance, he definitely wasn't expecting him to be there.

"What the?"

"You..."

Instead of an Aragami, a being composed of Oracle Cells that desire only to consume, he saw Gilgamesh instead. Unlike earlier, his blond hair was sitting casually on his head, smoothly downwards, and he was shirtless. He had on the same black pants with golden armour, however. But what threw Shirou for the greatest loop was the thing that shouldn't have been there. Two things actually.

First, his right arm. Shirou was quite certain he had severed it, having felt as his God Arc went through bone. His new arm, however, was markedly different in the way that it was pitch black, almost brown, and seemed to shift like water. The fingers also ended in sharp points instead of a regular person's nubs.

The second thing that shouldn't have been there was what he was holding in his right hand. It was thick, and as long as Gilgamesh's forearm, maybe a bit longer. It was entirely black, with the only hint of colour being the red lines that flowed around and across it like circuitry. It was cylindrical, and held an intimately familiar shape. It was Ea, Gilgamesh's God Arc, yet it was not. Even ignoring the obvious physical differences and the fact that he was holding the God Arc a few minutes ago, Shirou could feel the difference. He couldn't sense the same life that he could with a normal God Arc. If anything, it reminded him of just an Aragami. Could this be the Aragami that the alarm was warning for?

As Shirou was in his own head, as he often seems to be, Gilgamesh was seething. After all, that was the Faker that cut off his arm! It's because of him that he now had the arm of a beast! He was going to pay! The air around him seemed to boil with his bloodlust, and his 'God Arc' began to whir slightly. Before he could enact justice, Kirei, who had noticed Gilgamesh's extreme behaviour, made his presence known. Stepping forward, he spoke.

"My King, who is this? You didn't tell me you had a friend."

His sudden appappearance startled the two, but when they realized what he said, they both glared at him.

"**Oi!**"

His words were a slight monotone, but a sadistic glee could barely be heard. Shirou could only identify it due to having heard Rin use the tone from time to time, while Gilgamesh had been living with the guy for a decade. Kirei smiled at the enmity he felt being directed at him, from the duo that clearly dislike each other.

"Kirei, you mongrel! As if I could ever acknowledge this-- this _Faker _as a friend! He's even lower than a mongrel!"

"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't call this guy a friend!"

Kirei slowly looked over to the other boy that got such a reaction out of Gilgamesh. He was doubtless the one that cut off his arm, if the expression 'Faker' was any indicator. He had white hair and tan skin, with a patch of red hair and pale skin around his right eye. Could this boy be suffering from Oracle Cell Erosion? It wasn't a particularly well researched subject twelve years ago, but there were a few cases. Aside from his appearance, there was a look in the boys heterochromatic eyes that interested him. They were oddly familiar.

"Pardon my rudeness, boy. I am Kirei Kotomine, King Gilgamesh's loyal retainer." The tone he used to say loyal retainer felt at once sarcastic and serious. "What is your name?"

Shirou narrowed his eyes at the man in the priest outfit with the mullet. When Gilgamesh called him Kirei, he suspected his true identity, but with his introduction, Shirou was certain. He was the same Kirei Kotomine that caused the Great Fire twelve years ago. But Shirou had to keep whatever hostility he felt at bay, at least for the moment.

"My name is Shirou Emiya."

"Emiya?"

Shirou would have said more than just his name, but Kirei had interrupted him. His smile had become deeper, now projecting glee. But it was a terrible kind of glee, sadistic, even worse than what Rin could project. And his eyes. His brown eyes that seem dead to the world suddenly became deeper, as if consuming the light for his own amusement. It made Shirou feel uncomfortable.

"Y-Yeah." Shaking his head, Shirou said what he intended to say before he was interrupted. "If you're Kirei Kotomine, that means you were there when the Great Fire occurred, right?"

Kirei nodded, his smile becoming even more sinister. Kirei felt an odd warmth in his chest, similar to when he causes someone suffering, but even greater. There was something in the boy's tone that just warmed his soul. Could this boy have been...?

"Yes. Around the time of the Great Fire, 12 years ago, I was a researcher here. I assume you were told about me by one of my fellow researchers? Was it Professor Sakaki? Or was it... your father, Kiritsugu Emiya?"

Just remembering Kiritsugu filled Kirei with warmth. The look of despair on Kiritsugu's face as he explained the entirety of his plan, of destroying everything Kiritsugu cared for. It was sublime. Now if only Kiritsugu's answer, his final choice, hadn't disappointed him so.

"How is Kiritsugu anyhow? It would be nice to see my oldest 'friend' again."

Ignoring the way Kirei said friend, which sent a shiver down Shirou's spine, he gave Kirei the news.

"Kiritsugu is dead. He passed away 7 years ago."

"... Ah... I see."

Kirei's prior smile turned into a blank expression. Even if he did terrible things, it doesn't mean he would be unaffected by the loss of a 'friend'. That's Shirou's point of view at least.

"How did he die?"

"Peacefully. He had a smile on his face."

"Ah... I see. How... disappointing."

The casual dismissal of his father's death, caused Shirou to pause. No, it wasn't just dismissal. It was dissatisfaction at his death. Dissatisfaction at his peaceful end. Shirou liked to consider himself someone with a rather calm, level-headed disposition, except for when someone was hurt or something terrible was happening. His calm facade began to unravel, barely holding on by a thread as he realized Kirei's disposition to Kiritsugu's passing.

Kirei relished the expression of rage on Shirou's face. Make no mistake, he still held a calm facade, but the cracks were there. His face sported a scowl, his eyes narrowing and a slight growl coming from him. His eyes had both turned steel grey, and his God Arcs seemed to be shaking. However, his enjoyment was curbed by the slight growl he heard from the person beside him.

"Kirei! Stop wasting time and summon your Beast! Then I shall defeat it and prove myself as King of these mongrels!"

"Ah, apologies my King. But it will take a few minutes to properly set up the summoning."

"Phah! Useless mongrel! Fine then! In the meantime I'll entertain myself with this Faker."

"As you wish, my King."

Saying such, Kirei began to walk away, towards the wide open Northern entrance. Shirou watched as he slowly walked away, Kirei's hands behind his back, and Gilgamesh watched Shirou, a jagged smirk working its way onto his face. When Kirei was eventually out of sight, Shirou looked to Gilgamesh. He took a deep breath and relaxed, the scowl on his face washing away and his eyes resuming their heterochromia.

"Before we fight, I need to know..."

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. What could the Faker possibly have to ask? A part of him, a large part of him, wanted to refuse his request and attack. But a smaller, yet still large, part of him told him to listen as a sort of final request. It was his job as the magnanimous King to listen to the death howls of _some_ mongrels, at least.

"You were here, weren't you? Twelve years ago."

Actually, nevermind. Maybe some mongrels should be silenced before they bother anyone. Gilgamesh brought his Ea before him, positioning his left arm behind him and stepping forward with his right foot. A slight whirring could be heard.

"You know that Kirei was the cause of it, don't you?"

Shirou saw Gilgamesh freeze, his 'God Arc' stilling and his expression pausing. Shirou hoped this was a good sign, as he didn't particularly want to fight Gilgamesh. Don't get him wrong, he personally isn't opposed to fighting him if he intended to destroy the Outer Ghetto and hurt people, but the memories he saw from Enkidu showed that he was also a victim. Enkidu and Ea also wouldn't be too happy if they heard that the two fought.

Shirou's hopes, however, were dashed when Gilgamesh began to laugh. It was startlingly calm, as if he was told a funny joke. But it slowly began to shift to more unstable laughter, his whole body shaking. He looked up to the sky, arms spread wide, and continued to laugh. When he was done, he looked back to Shirou, a grin on his face.

"Of course I know, Faker! He told me after all. For no one can hide their secrets from the King. But he is not the one I must defeat! To prove myself as King, I shall defeat the Beast that created the Great Fire!"

"But-- But how can you trust him!? If he caused the Great Fire, then how do you know he won't do it again!?"

"Haha! Foolish Faker! That is the point! I shall defeat the Beast, and prove myself greater than that day! Then I shall truly be the King!"

Shirou looked at Gilgamesh, his eyes wide and his mouth open, before a long, slow sigh came flowing out. Slowly, he moved into his combat stance, feet shoulder-width apart, slightly leaning back, and blades pointing to the sky. A calm spread through him, as a small smirk appeared on his face. Gilgamesh noticed the change in Shirou and responded accordingly, taking his earlier combat stance.

As the two stared at each other from across the dust street, an understanding could be reached. As the dirt shifted below their feet, they flew towards each other, a smile on each of their faces.

"Do you have enough Oracle in stock, King!?"

"Hah! Don't get cocky, Faker!"

* * *

The momentary pause of everyone in the Den somehow extended from a moment to a minute or two. Theoretically, they would have continued on to their prior arrangements. Even if the Units sent to attack the threat had stayed after hearing the threat was a human, the 2nd Unit still should have gone to defend the Northern Gate. But, an unheard signal must have run throughout the Den, causing everyone to stay silent and wait.

The speakers crackled, and an old voice echoed throughout the facility.

"Units 1 and 3, assist Shirou Emiya in containing the threat. Units 2 and 4, confront the threat located outside of the Northern entrance. Everyone else, evacuate the citizens! This is an order!"

At the sound of their Director giving orders, everyone in the Den moved to position, all of them exiting out via the front entrance except for two. These two were quite close to the God Eater mentioned to have been combating the threat, and when he was mentioned they immediately ran to the rooftop in an attempt to reach him sooner.

In his office, Sakaki let out a sigh of relief, happy that the God Eaters were finally back in working order. He pushed up his glasses, and looked to the monitors in front of him, showing two camera feeds and a radar for Aragami. On one camera was Shirou combating who he could only assume was Gilgamesh, and on the other was Kirei hunched over some box. But it was the radar that was most important. On it was two readings, both identical in nature, with one being weaker than the other. One reading coincided with Gilgamesh, and the other, stronger one coincided with the box Kirei was working on.

What had him worried, however, was that the readings were identical to the one he got over a week ago. These readings were those of the Angra.

* * *

**Clang**!

A couple things surprised Shirou in that moment. First, the fact that Gilgamesh ran towards him instead of trying to surround him with segments. Second, the apparent fact that his 'God Arc' was much solider than it looked. Realistically, he should have guessed that point but the way the 'God Arc's' form seemed to shift and the fact that it _wasn't _Ea or Enkidu served to disillusion him.

Blinking away the confusion, Shirou saw Gilgamesh's confident grin across from him, and felt the pressure being applied against his God Arc. With a tug, he pulled back his God Arc, causing Gilgamesh to tumble forward. But only for a moment. As Shirou brought down his other God Arc, Gilgamesh regained his footing and _thrust _his 'God Arc' forward, colliding with and redirecting Shirou's own.

Once more Shirou was confused. He's got some skills. The confusion quickly gave way to understanding. Of course he does, he did wield an actual God Arc before the Great Fire after all. If he used a Knife then his style would be centered around thrusts and the occasional slash, wouldn't it?

Another blink, and he was back in the fray. Once more he slackened his grip on the God Arc, and once more Gilgamesh lost his footing. Instead of going in for a swing, Shirou elected to make distance. He brought up his leg and kicked Gilgamesh in the chest, before dashing backwards himself.

Gilgamesh brought his hand to his chest and coughed. Looking up, he prepared to crush the Faker with his segments, but before he could...

"Caladbolg!"

**Boom**!

Shirou watched as the dust billowed around Gilgamesh, quickly bringing his God Arcs back to their Blade Form. After all, he doubted Gilgamesh would fall so easily to a little explosion. The use of some Oracle was a bit of a loss though...

A flash from the cloud. Quickly bringing up his God Arc, the segment collided, creating sparks. Instead of the steel he expected, the segment shared the same murky black appearance as the 'God Arc' they came from. You wouldn't think they would reflect light but lo and behold. Soon following it were more black segments. Only, these were much faster than the original segments. Shirou could barely percept them, let alone intercept them. And the ones he did intercept proved to be much stronger than the old ones, actually making him worry about Unlimited Blade Works' condition.

As the dust settled, Shirou saw Gilgamesh's defence. A barricade of segments. Actually... that's not quite right. It wasn't many small segments that formed the impromptu defence, that would have been impractical to make. It was actually three large segments, each one equivalent to the size of a Buster Blade God Arc. Looks like he's got a new trick. That made the foreseeable future much more difficult.

As the massive segments, or Buster segments as he found himself fond of, faded, Shirou caught a glimpse of Gilgamesh's confident smirk. It seemed he was revelling in Shirou's surprise. From there, the combat mirrored their first encounter. Gilgamesh attempted to overwhelm Shirou with segments from every direction, and Shirou avoided almost all of them. There were a few key differences though. Aside from the segments being faster and stronger, they were also interchanged with Buster segments, the two were only a few meters from each other, and the vulnerability period is infinitely shorter.

If Shirou wasn't being pressured, he would have sighed at his bad odds. But he couldn't so he just kept dodging. When the segments around him dissipated, balls shot out of the Ea look-alike, surrounding him and reforming into segments as quickly as it took him to blink. But it seemed Gilgamesh was getting frustrated. Instead of many regular segments and one Buster segment, he created four Buster segments. The main problem with them was that they moved as fast as a regular segment, and had the strength to bifurcate him in a moment.

All four were aimed at him from various angles, and fired at him. He sidestepped the first, coming from his left, before jumping over the one that came from behind. The other two came from above, to his left and right. But there were no other segments to contest with. Instead of dealing with them, Shirou dashed ahead, straight towards the undefended Gilgamesh. It was only when he was within strike range did he realize that it was too easy. He saw Gilgamesh's smile grow deeper, more feral, and Shirou felt himself pale. He planted his foot in the dirt, trying to halt his momentum, and turned to see the Buster segments from before barreling towards him, instead of striking the ground.

He brought up his God Arcs in a cross, and in his panic he reinforced his God Arcs. Both Buster segments collided with the Arcs, and he felt himself almost drop them. Despite the rushed reinforcement, the Buster segments still pressured him. The Buster segments were deflected, and his God Arcs groaned in pain, but the greater threat was directly behind him. Spinning, he tried to move away from Gilgamesh but saw him thrusting forth his 'Ea', now sporting a segment as a sharp point.

He was able to barely knock it away, but was caught completely unprepared for the next surprise. A Buster segment that was behind Gilgamesh, now aimed directly at him. He couldn't reinforce his God Arcs to block in time, and he couldn't dodge without putting himself in an even more precarious position. As the Buster segment inched closer and closer, Shirou prepared to sacrifice something to continue fighting when...

"Excalibur!"

A golden beam of Oracle appeared in the space between the two, catching the Buster segment and destroying it. At the same time, a blast of black and red flew towards Gilgamesh's head, but was blocked by a regular segment. Shirou regained his balance and jumped away from Gilgamesh before looking over to the origin of both attacks. Slowly walking towards the duo were Saber and Rin. Shirou could feel a small smile spread on his face, while Gilgamesh felt a scowl on his.

"Hey, Shirou! You have a lot to explain here!"

Shirou could feel the smile fade away, the blood draining from his face.

"I agree. No matter your reason, you shall be punished for going ahead of everyone else. Be prepared."

"H-Haha... It's good to see you Rin... Saber..."

As the duo walked closer, they moved to stand at Shirou's sides, facing Gilgamesh.

"But I suppose we have bigger fish to fry, huh? I thought you dealt with this guy last week."

Gilgamesh didn't take that comment from Rin well, if his growl was anything to go by.

"Reinforcements will be arriving soon, but... let us see if we can not defeat him before then, Shirou, Rin."

Shirou and Rin were surprised by Saber's cocky statement, but Gilgamesh just growled harder before dramatically gesturing.

"Enough talk, mongrels! I will show you my true power!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, it's the beginning of the end. Hooray!**

**Some notes include, I feel that the relationship between Shirou and Gilgamesh is _meant _to be that of 'rivals', less in the frienemies sense and more in the sense of 'I'm going to kill you because that's how I do'. But I haven't really set up that relationship properly. The two are meant to be similar yet different, like canon Kirei and HF!Shirou. But only Shirou understands that since he knows Gil's past. Gil is just here to kill Shirou for his arm.**

**Thank you db246, Shadow48, and octavious for following or favouriting.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3551**


	43. Surpassing the Past: Part 1

Before anything could happen, Rin pulled the trigger on her God Arc, sending a blast of Oracle towards Gilgamesh. It was easily blocked, but it probably wasn't meant to be an effective attack. In the moment Gilgamesh blocked with a segment, his head tilting upwards so he could look down on her, Shirou and Saber rushed directly at him. His eyes widened, before he regained his usual expression and swished his 'God Arc'. Segments appeared to match his action, and the two found themselves occupied.

The funny thing about the segments was how they were used. Some attacked in a shooting motion like arrows. These were the attacks that Shirou had been dealing with up to this point. Turns out, they could also be manipulated like actual swords, as they were currently being used against Saber, colliding against Excalibur in wide slashes. She should have been able to disperse the Segments, except they were all making up for each other's openings, striking from multiple points at once.

Shirou was still dealing with the segments being launched like arrows, but it seems Gilgamesh was too distracted to pull out more Buster segments. But Shirou knew it would take more segments than this to distract Gilgamesh and easily catch him off guard. This was demonstrated by how he was still blocking the occasional pot shot from Rin, the ones she got out between dodging segments in a smaller number than what Shirou was occupied with. Very quickly, the trio found themselves at a stalemate with the golden king once more, and this time Gilgamesh's prior weaknesses had been plugged up and he now had more to show off.

Beyond the clanging of metal, the grunts of exertion, and the panting of at least two of the trio, the sigh of boredom made its way to all of their ears. Gilgamesh still had his hands out, waving his 'God Arc' and gesturing with his off-hand. But his expression was flat, a slight tug pulling his lips downward. If his hands weren't occupied, he would doubtless have his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm disappointed, Faker. I would have thought you would provide some modicum of entertainment, but I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from you. It is not every day that one can meet a King's expectation after all. But I believe it is time I bring this farce to an end."

At that moment, the segments struck all at once. The sudden change of pace was jarring, but it was still an easily dodgeable attack. While Shirou and Rin were left with some cuts that were a few inches short of debilitating, they were all alive. In their haste to not die, they didn't notice the sudden change to their surroundings. Everywhere around them were hand sized orbs sharing the same colour as Gilgamesh's new arm. They were all packed together, and Shirou knew that they were dangerous.

"This is the Absolute Territory of the King. Rejoice at the last sight you shall ever see."

He brought up his left hand, and snapped his fingers. At once, a ripple ran through the sea of orbs, and Shirou was filled with an overwhelming feeling that told him to dodge. So he jumped upwards, just in time to avoid imminent death as the orbs that were around him burst into spikes. They weren't large, but a second later and Shirou would have lost a leg at best. The next problem made itself known a moment later, when Shirou began descending. He had a moment to curse to himself, thinking he should have installed the Mobility Kit, but was distracted by a third problem.

Gilgamesh noticed Shirou dodging his Absolute Territory, and sought to rectify that. He brought out segments to attack him, both slashing and piercing, and went at it. Shirou didn't have fun. He was stuck blocking and attempting to twist his way around in mid-air, being launched backwards by piercing segments and being pushed downwards by the slashing segments. He was quickly making his way towards the orbs, and his senses screamed at him to get away. He had no way to move without touching the ground, and the ground was trapped. He had a few seconds, only two meters before he lands, to make a decision.

Spinning, he slammed his God Arcs together and twisted, activating Range Mode. Pulling back on the Oracle bow string, and charging his Oracle into the arrow, he released his shot a moment before he hit one of the orbs. An explosion occurred, sending him upwards and causing him some light damage to his torso, his shirt being torn and burnt. But more important than that, the orbs were gone. He quickly landed back on the ground, orienting himself to face Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh was looking at him with a quirk to his mouth and a raised eyebrow, eyes glinting. Shirou kept his weapons ready and took a deep breath, ignoring tthe stinging from his torso. All at once, his eyes widened and he spun around, looking for his teammates which he had forgotten about in the past few seconds. Saber was still in the air, actually having equipped the Mobility Kit. Rin was...

Rin was...

"Rin!"

She was lying on the floor, her red sweater stained a darker shade of red from the oozing wounds in her sides. Shirou quickly made his way to her, but was blocked by the sea of orbs. He looked for a way across, seeing as if he used another Caladbolg he ran the risk of hurting Rin. Snapping his head back to Saber, he called out.

"Saber! Clear me a path!"

Saber looked down at him, confusion playing across her face, before her eyes flew to Rin's slumped form. Nodding, she charged Excalibur with Oracle, remembering the brief flash and explosion that occurred a moment ago. With a cry, she let out a blast, missing Rin and Shirou but creating a path connecting the two.

Shirou breathed out a thanks before sprinting over to Rin, hoping that she had a Restore Pill. As the sounds of further clashing could be heard above, he knelt by Rin, bringing her head up and checking her pockets for any items. The shifting caught her attention, and she began to speak, but she was too quiet. Instead, Shirou hushed her and told her to focus on his voice as he began to whisper reassurances, eventually finding some Restore Pills in a pouch on her hip.

Pulling out two of the red and white pills, he coaxed them into Rin's mouth, keeping an eye on Gilgamesh, who was distracted by Saber's mid-air performance. As the pills went down, Shirou saw a faint glow and heard the familiar noise of a surplus of Oracle being produced and then healing the body. When the glow faded, the blood puddle beneath them stopped growing, and Rin was looking much better. She let out a groan before looking to see Shirou close by, flinching and blushing a bit. Shirou stood up, pulling Rin with him, but she stayed silent, face still red.

At the same time, Saber landed on the ground near them, breathing only marginally heavier. Gilgamesh still stood opposite the trio, none the worse for wear, smiling. The trio needed a plan, and fast. Their ability to move around was now restricted, and the Absolute Territory didn't appear to impede on Gilgamesh's combat ability. Their best bet was--

A crash halted Shirou's line of thought. Looking to his right, beyond the Absolute Territory, he saw eight people. Eight familiar people.

"Hey, you three! You sure did get into trouble when I wasn't looking, huh?"

"Kota?"

It was the 1st and the 3rd Unit, all of them standing in a formation Shirou wasn't familiar with. Kota smirked, his orange God Arc trained on Gilgamesh.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Shirou? So, who's the blondie?"

A sputtering could be heard, before it was quickly followed by a growl and then yelling. Something along the lines of 'How dare you' and 'You dare mock a King'. Shirou couldn't be bothered, feeling appreciative of the backup. Kota smiled at him, before his eyes widened and he reached into his jacket and threw something small to Shirou. Catching it, Shirou saw it was an earpiece. Raising his eyebrow, he put it in and was surprised to hear Kota speaking.

"The Professor figured you forgot your earpiece since you weren't responding to orders. This earpiece is on the same wavelength as everyone else's, so tell us what you got."

As Shirou heard that, he felt a smile creep up his face. It looked like he finally found his answer. And if that smile seemed cutthroat and similar to Gilgamesh's, no one said a thing.

* * *

Kirei slowly stood up from his position in the sand, dusting off his hands. With a hum, he looked to the sky in contemplation, a slight smile on his face.

"It appears I have company."

Looking to the direction of the Fenrir Gate, Kirei saw several God Eaters running out of the gate and towards him, God Arcs raised. With a sigh, he turned to face them, hands behind his back and a sinister smile on his face. When they eventually reached him, they came to a stop, spread out with their God Arcs all levelled at him. When a few of their eyes widened at what was behind him, he felt his smile widen in kind.

"W-What is that?"

One of the God Eaters, a girl with pink hair, asked with a shiver. Kirei could understand why, of course. It wasn't a particularly pretty sight, but wasn't that how it normally is? The true beauty of something being belied by their external appearance? That's how it is with the things Kirei appreciated, at least.

"Good morning, God Eaters. My name is Kirei Kotomine, but you are likely aware of that. A pleasant day today, isn't it? What can this priest do for all of you?"

"Sorry sir, but we need you to put your hands in the air and come with us."

Another God Eater, one with fairly plain features, said that. He wore red and seemed to be a squad leader of some sort, judging by his stature and the way most of the other God Eaters seemed to defer to him. He looked at Kirei with what seemed to be an innocent expression, but Kirei could see the calculating look in his eyes. Slowly, Kirei brought his hands out from behind his back, raising them upwards. But as they reached chest level, they stopped, palms upward.

"I must kindly refuse. But rejoice." He shifted his hands, bringing his right hand as a fist near his waist and his left hand pointing straight ahead of him, palm facing the God Eaters. "You shall witness the beginning of your end, soon. For now, you will have to content yourselves with me." He bent his legs slightly, and then was gone in the next moment.

* * *

Gilgamesh was irritated. This was not an uncommon occurrence, as he usually shifted between the three states of pride, annoyance, and boredom. But his irritation was currently compounded by the annoying barks of the mongrels that suddenly appeared outside of his Absolute Territory. It was already pretty high from the lackluster performance of the Faker, but this was pushing it.

When the mongrels stopped barking, and began to move to surround him in a wide circle, Gilgamesh felt his annoyance boil over. With a loud faux sigh, he decided to mock the mongrels to relieve some of his annoyance.

"I tire of this. No matter what, you mongrels cannot defeat me. Your dull claws won't even scratch me, the King!"

He threw in his best sneer for extra effect, then brought his Ea up. It began to spin and thrum with red Oracle, before his Absolute Territory began to retract. The orbs flew from their place on the field towards Ea and were absorbed into it. The mongrels all looked confused, and the Faker himself seemed to go still, his mouth setting in a firm line. He could feel his sneer become a bit more genuine at the sight, but decided to focus. Feeling all of the Oracle in his Ea being replenished, he created more of the Orbs, creating a new Absolute Territory to surround all of the mongrels.

There were collective gasps and even some mongrels barking in confusion, but Gilgamesh was almost hyperfocused on the Faker. Instead of fear, or anger, his expression was calm. But slowly, the edge of his mouth turned upwards, and Gilgamesh had to restrain the newfound anger blazing in his chest. Clicking his tongue, Gilgamesh brought his Ea back to chest level, before bringing his off-hand upward and putting his thumb and middle finger together. Shooting the Faker another sneer, he snapped his fingers, and sent his Oracle throughout his Absolute Territory, willing them to burst into blades.

The Faker's expression bloomed into a true smirk.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Shirou?"

"Not really, but it's the best chance we've got."

Shirou watched as Gilgamesh sighed, before taking the Orbs of his Absolute Territory back into his 'God Arc' and creating a new Absolute Territory that captured all of the God Eaters. While the recreation of the Absolute Territory wasn't outside of expectations, it still meant Plan A went down the gutter. However, the fact that he had to retake all of the Orbs proved a potentially useful opening. But now wasn't the time for that. As Gilgamesh looked at him and sneered, Shirou felt a tug at his lips.

"Do you remember the signal?" Shirou whispered, his mouth barely moving.

"When he snaps his fingers, right?"

When Gilgamesh's face contorted in anger, and he snapped his fingers, Shirou could feel a smile bloom on his face.

"Now!"

He jumped, and at the same time, so did all of the other God Eaters from Fenrir. And then the plan began. At once, every God Eater with a ranged option destroyed some of the orbs below them, before focus firing on Gilgamesh, while the God Eaters limited to just close combat made their way to the closest safe space. Shirou himself pulled back on his drawstring and released a regular Oracle arrow, clearing a much smaller area than earlier. But when he landed, he spun towards Gilgamesh and charged up a Caladbolg.

Simultaneously, other God Eaters were taking pot shots at Gilgamesh, keeping him blocking from various angles. As Shirou was about to release Caladbolg, Saber beat him to the punch.

"Excalibur!"

A wall of golden energy ripped through the field of black, and was intercepted by a black slab. With a small chuckle, Shirou followed suit.

"Caladbolg!"

A beam of neon green energy followed suit, and met the same fate as the wall of gold. But the damage had been done, and Shirou could now move on to the next stage of his plan. He ran forward, the now parted sea of orbs leaving him a path to Gilgamesh.

"Keep up the pressure!"

His fellow God Eaters continued to fire at Gilgamesh, forcing him to either surround himself in Buster segments and limit his sight or constantly readjust his segments while taking a few retaliatory shots back, and even those were blocked by the few God Eaters. But he was so distracted by the number of combatants and the amount of blocking, that he ignored the real reason why he was here, believing his Buster segments to be enough.

As Shirou got closer, he began to charge Oracle into his God Arc. He never had a particularly large stockpile of Oracle, so he was running on a bit more than half after using two Caladbolgs, and his next few moves probably weren't going to do his Oracle stockpile any favours. When he had charged enough, he brought his God Arcs up above his shoulders, before flicking them forward, twin green blades flying towards the wall of Buster segments. They cut through, but not entirely, leaving two parallel vertical cuts in the segment, which was within Shirou's expectations of the segment's endurance.

Then he charged more, still a fair distance away from the barricade. When he was only a few meters away, he brought his God Arcs to their opposing sides, one held high and one held low, before flicking them again, another two neon-green blades flying towards the barricade. Like the last pair, they pierced through but were unable to reach Gilgamesh. But they did leave two parallel horizontal cuts, which met up with the vertical cuts. While they didn't meet up properly to allow a hole to firm in the barricade, Shirou was hoping that his next move would finish this.

Once more, Shirou channeled Oracle into his God Arcs, but instead of letting it out in Oracle blades he pooled it in the God Arcs, reinforcing them. As he finally reached the barricade, Shirou put all of his God Eater-enhanced strength into lunging forward the last metre and thrust both God Arcs forward, colliding and then piercing through the black substance. The initial collision jarred his arms before his reinforcement made itself known. But that wasn't all. The force of his full weight and strength forced the segment to give, wrenching the square from the whole and moving him closer to Gilgamesh.

Shirou heard a muffled cry of "What" before forcing his Oracle out of his God Arcs and onto it as extensions.

* * *

His first inclination something was wrong appeared when he heard a whistle, hidden by the sounds of firing and deflecting. But he would recognise that whistle anywhere. It came up in some of his less enjoyable dreams (they were _not _nightmares, no matter what any sadistic priests might say). Of course, he wouldn't let that distract him from the mongrels' desperate assault, but the actual inclination appeared when he heard a thunk. It wasn't particularly loud, but since it was right behind him, it was impossible to not notice.

Turning his head while still keeping the other mongrels in sight, he saw a familiar neon-green blade sticking through his segment barrier before it faded, along with the other neon-green blade piercing his barrier next to it. That was a matter of some concern. Gilgamesh decided he would keep an eye on it, and have some segments trained on the spot, before turning back to the mongrels still seeking his attention.

The second pair of thunks followed almost immediately after, surprising Gilgamesh and causing him to look again. The two blades were in different locations than the last two, but Gilgamesh couldn't really see the plan. Instead of turning to the mongrels, he kept his focus on his barricade, and was rewarded by seeing the barricade pierced by twin blades of black and white, before a section of his barrier just burst away from the whole. His eyes widened in realization, before he let out a surprised cry.

"What!?"

From the blades, neon-green burst forth, extending their reach and allowing them to cut both of Gilgamesh's sides. The sudden pain caused a brief lapse in concentration, causing his segments to misfire and allowing the mongrels pitiful attacks to actually reach him. To be fair, most of them only scratched him because he stumbled back, but the mongrels still caused him harm.

And they will be met with harsh punishment.

But first, the Faker.

Ignoring the pain, which had now dulled, he called down the segments he had positioned above the Faker. As the Faker stumbled due to his God Arcs being in the door, Gilgamesh could watch as some of the segments cut through his body, causing blood to spurt from some of his wounds and even causing him to cough some up. But some of the segments were intercepted by stray fire from the other mongrels that missed him. Even so, he looked down on the Faker and felt a smile begin to bloom, before he raised his Ea and produced a few more segments to finish the job.

But as he did that, the Faker forced himself to his knees, his hands still on his God Arcs. His expression was calm, and his eyes held no signs of fear. Gilgamesh could feel his smile sour a bit at the lack of terror, but it stood proud on his face.

"Goodbye, Faker."

He brought his hand down, the newly formed segments descending on the Faker. Suddenly, his mouth quirks upwards.

"Goodbye, King."

The Faker reversed his grip on the blades, pulling them out of the floor and revealing that the neon green extensions were still intact, before saying something that made Gilgamesh freeze.

"Burst."

All Gilgamesh could see was white.

* * *

As Kirei dusted off his hands, he looked over to the Far East Branch, where he just heard a loud explosion take place. It seems Gilgamesh was done toying around. Although, he didn't remember Gilgamesh displaying any explosive abilities. No matter. Truly, Kirei just hoped that Shirou Emiya was still alive. If he was anything like his father, then Kirei wanted him to see what would come next.

Bending down, and taking the catalyst in his arms, Kirei made his way to the open gate, leaving behind the unconscious God Eaters on the hill. They would live, to see the end, and to despair. And Kirei would watch their despair with a smile.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This is Cee and, sorry for not uploading last week. I kinda just couldn't write, so then I read fan fiction. When I wanted to write, I forced myself to read more. When I exhausted my fan fiction, I began to write some more. So, try that next time you have writer's block.**

**Note, when thinking about Gil's segments and the second way they attack, imagine Dante from Devil May Cry using Summon Swords. For that matter, the way Gilgamesh and Archer from regular Fate can shoot weapons is kinda similar to how Vergil uses Summon Swords.**

**2nd Note, Kirei is meant to be in the pose for Bajiquan, the fighting style he used in proper Fate. I think it's right, but I'm basing his stance off of my memory from playing Li Shuwen in Fate/Extella.**

**Thank you to grimmzapdos, The Kingdom of Ruby Luxuria, LoneBearKun, erick.123, BlackFanglight, GonzalotheChaldean, and Kirito2015 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3595**


	44. Surpassing the Past: Interlude

Pain was the most abundant thing Shirou felt. After that would be discomfort, and after that is satisfaction. So he thought as he lay face down on the floor, rocks and dirt digging into his face and the wounds on his torso. The more he moved -shifted, more like- the deeper the rocks dug in, and the more he moved his wounds against the segments still impaling him. Funnily enough, his lower half was completely fine. They were just scuffed from the explosion. Speaking of...

Turning his head, and fighting the slight grimace that wanted to appear from aggravating the wound in his shoulder, Shirou looked to his hands, still clutching his Unlimited Blade Works. Luckily, they seemed to be in one piece, although the edge of the blades looked a bit rough. Unluckily, there were segments pinning his arms to the ground. Shirou sent out a questioning ping, asking after Archer's condition. He got a positive in return, with the undertone of exhaustion. But prompting from Archer -specifically the words 'Pay attention to your surroundings'- got Shirou to look in front of him, in the process lifting his chest up and sliding along the segments.

Oh. That's absolutely in his rib cage. And probably his lung. Ignoring that, and the grimace that's fighting with a vengeance, he looked ahead to try and spy Gilgamesh. What he saw was Gilgamesh, with several broken segments surrounding him, his black arm raised as if to ward off the explosion. He was still standing, which surprised Shirou, but the burns and wounds on his chest attested to the effectiveness of his attack. Actually, Gilgamesh was probably bleeding from as many places as Shirou, with small wounds on his sides and shoulders, and what Shirou did.

Wait... was Gilgamesh even conscious? He wasn't really moving at all, and he wasn't saying anything either. Then, with a body wracking cough, Gilgamesh snapped back to reality, way too much blood to be healthy shooting out of his mouth. With another cough, he began to fall, his legs giving way, before he caught himself on his fake Ea. With a groan, he brought his head up to look at Shirou, still pinned to the floor. His expression couldn't decide between amusement or anger, so he just bared his teeth and tried to speak.

"Damn... Faker..."

His voice was rather weak, but Shirou could feel the anger in his tone. With a smirk and a light cough (oh, now he's coughing up too much blood) he responded.

"Not my fault... you decided to attack... my home..."

His voice was also weak. Probably the pierced lung. But aside from that, the two were at a standstill. Gilgamesh couldn't or wouldn't summon more segments, otherwise he would have already, but all of his previous segments were still there. That included the Absolute Territory. On the other hand, Shirou was literally pinned to the floor and could barely do anything, but his friends could. Given enough time, they could cut through the Absolute Territory and reach the two of them. So really, it was a race to see what happened first: Gilgamesh recovering enough to kill him, or everyone getting to them.

**Crackle**.

"Shirou! Are you okay!?"

Wincing slightly from the sudden loud noise, Shirou chuckled to himself at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Yeah... I'm fine... Kota..."

"You don't sound fine!"

Shirou chuckled aloud at that.

"Heh... Just get over here..."

"You better still be alive when we get there, idiot!"

Oh, that's right. The radio was open. Chuckling once more as the radio crackled off, Shirou looked to Gilgamesh, who was glaring at him. Liking his odds, and not really having anything to do, Shirou decided to talk to Gilgamesh.

"So... How's your... day been?"

"Tch. Silence, Faker... I have no intention... of wasting my... energy on you..."

"Aw... And I thought... we were becoming friends..."

At Gilgamesh's bewildered glare, Shirou had the blatant realization that he was going loopy from blood loss. It made sense, since it meant that he was getting less blood to the brain. How many times has he been conscious when in such a condition? There was that one time where he was impaled by the Vajra... but he fell unconscious a few seconds later. There was Zouken... but he fell unconscious. His first meeting with Illya? Succumbed to unconsciousness. Last time with Gilgamesh? Bloody sleeping.

Huh. A lot of Shirou's significant fights ended with him out for the count. That should probably change. His attention was brought back to the real world at the sound of the rocks near him shifting. And the dustcloud that hit him in the face. Coughing and blinking away the tears, Shirou looked up to see Saber, standing tall. She threw him a worried glance, before shifting her body to stand before Shirou, shielding him from the potential danger of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh just glared at her like... like a child!

The thought of him acting like a child forced Shirou to laugh. But since it was more movement than a chuckle, he slid his body up and down the segments, causing his laugh to die out in a groan. Saber gave him a worried look, while Gilgamesh shot him another glare. Taking a deep breath and again ignoring the segment probably in his lung stinging like hell, Shirou talked to Saber. Luckily, his very short conversation with Gilgamesh worked the tired (and blood) out of his throat and let him speak without having to take a breath.

"Hey, Saber. Don't mind Gilgamesh, he's too tired to do anything. But would you mind getting these out of me?"

With a sheepish smile, he gestured with his head (ow my shoulder) towards the segments. Saber still looked worried, and shot another look to Gilgamesh who just glared back, before moving to Shirou and taking hold of one of the segments. Now then, from that point several things were discovered and shall be listed in descending order of discovery.

1\. The segments were sharp along the sides, like a regular sword.

2\. The segments were actually quite heavy, even without being manipulated by Gilgamesh.

3\. The gloves that Saber normally wore were not enough to keep her hand from being cut.

4\. Having a sharp object pulled out of your body, then summarily dropped back in and potentially stabbing you from a different angle, hurt like a _bitch._

5\. Gilgamesh laughed at human suffering. Oh wait, Shirou already guessed that.

A loud muffled groan could be heard across the Absolute Territory, and all of the God Eaters working their way through it looked up in concern, before making their ways across at a faster pace. Or it felt like they were faster at least.

So, as Shirou bit his lip to prevent from making a noise louder than he just did, drawing blood- and now he can feel the blood leaking out of his wounds and that's _uncomfortable_ -he looked up to Saber and saw her gripping her now bleeding hand. Letting go of his lip, and accidentally tasting his blood (not particularly nice), he grunted out what was probably meant to be 'Are you okay'. Saber sent him a slightly confused look, before nodding when she realized what he meant. Flexing her hand, she moved back to the segment and put down her God Arc. This time she grabbed it with both hands, holding the blade between her palms. And slowly, she lifted it up.

While this still hurt, Shirou could endure it. Hopefully nothing would happen that would make Saber drop the segment back into him. And nothing happened. The segment slid out and Saber just dropped it next to him, then reached for another one. The one she took out felt like it was in the small of his back, so it was probably a good thing she got that first. But while she was pulling out the next one...

"Oh? It seems that things didn't occur as I thought they would. Weren't you going to crush them, my King?"

A familiar, ominous voice echoed throughout the little clearing the three were in. Turning his head, because whenever someone appears they always have to be standing on the other side of Shirou where he isn't looking, Shirou saw a familiar dark purple coat and black trousers. Looking up, he saw the smiling visage of Kirei Kotomine, looking down on him. His empty brown eyes seemed to suck in his soul, and Shirou quickly looked away from his eyes to something else. His eyes landed on his hair, and never before had Shirou realized how evil a mullet could be before he saw it on Kirei. He had heard that it wasn't a good haircut, but now...

His soul-searching stopped when Saber suddenly dropped the segment back into him, which _ow_, and then reached for her Excalibur, which was buried in the floor, blade first. Drawing it, she held it in a defensive stance, glaring at Kirei.

"You..." She seemed to recognize Kirei, but before she said anything about it she just shook her head. "How did you get here? You were not here originally, meaning you had to get past the others. How?"

Shirou blinked. That... was a good question. The blood loss was seriously getting to him. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to laugh at his own jokes. He had to keep his head on straight. Looking with a sharp gaze, Shirou watched as Kirei smiled a bit more.

"Oh, don't worry about them. They are still alive."

Shirou didn't feel at peace with his response, but knew he couldn't really do anything about it. But, he prepared to do something just in case, tensing his muscles to force himself upwards. Kirei, impossibly, seemed to notice and smiled down on him before putting down something he had on his back, near Gilgamesh. It was...

A body. A perfectly smooth body, the same colour as Gilgamesh's arm. In fact, it was missing a right arm. But besides that, the body was impaled in several places, as if tortured. It wasn't the worst thing Shirou had seen, but it stirred something in his gut. Something familiar and... a sense of nostalgia? That was new.

"What is that?"

Saber asked the obvious question, her grip on her God Arc tightening almost imperceptibly. Kirei remained silent while Gilgamesh scoffed.

"Hmph. So you've now decided to summon the Beast, Kirei?"

"But of course, my King. Clearly you can't defeat these humble God Eaters on your lonesome. So I believed that you might require some assistance in your endeavour."

Gilgamesh growled.

"Kirei... you mongrel!"

He forced himself upright, off of his false Ea, and staggered to Kirei. Thrusting his left arm out to the side, he produced a segment from the false Ea and moved it, slowly and with the occasional jerk, to his outstretched hand before taking hold of it. Shirou realized that what Gilgamesh was doing must have been incredibly painful, what with the potentially cracked ribs and the fact that he was holding the segment without flinching. Reluctantly, Shirou felt a small amount of respect for his endurance, even if he was against what Gilgamesh was clearly trying to do and Gilgamesh in general.

When Gilgamesh was right in front of Kirei, he brought up his segment, blood running down his arm, and growled out, "You dare compare me to mongrels, Kirei!? I shall slay you where you stand!"

Then, with all of the strength he could muster, which wasn't much for a God Eater but was more than the average person, he brought the segment crashing down.

While Shirou wanted to get up but couldn't, Saber quickly moved forward, intent on stopping Gilgamesh. But what they weren't expecting was Kirei's hand to suddenly flash upwards, grabbing the segment and halting all of Gilgamesh's momentum. With a tsk, Kirei admonished him.

"Now, now, my King. I was merely stating my belief. And do understand, this is not me doubting your skills." Then he leaned in, so then his mouth was next to Gilgamesh's ear and kept looking ahead. "But this is not a battle that you can fight alone."

He brought his head back up and, in one swift motion, let go of the segment and punched Gilgamesh in the stomach, sending him flying backwards past Saber. Shirou and Saber could only watch in shock, as the non-God Eater Kirei completely man-handled Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh himself was coughing and wheezing, blood dribbling down his chin, but if he could he would be glaring and yelling.

Then, Kirei began to make his way over. As he did, he knelt down by the smooth body and began to remove some of the tools impaling it. A knife in each leg, one in the thigh, the other in the knee, a rusted pipe in the gut, a scalpel through the left arm's bicep, and then a wicked looking curved knife through the heart. As he stood, all of the sharp objects precariously held in his arms, he looked ridiculous but no one found it in them to laugh. He walked forward, purpose in his steps, and it took a whole second before Saber reacted. She brought her God Arc forward and called with a clear determination in her voice.

"Halt."

Kirei acknowledged her existence with a slight turn of his head, but continued unabated, ignoring Saber's words. This irritated Saber, and she prepared to disable Kirei, not kill him. With only a blink, Saber brought her God Arc upon him with a sweeping blow, aiming for his legs. As she did, Kirei jumped, bringing his legs upward, before he landed back on the ground. Before Saber could follow up her initial slash, Kirei threw the weapons in his arms upwards and drew his arms into a stance. As Saber drew her blade closer to her, the two engaged in a short battle.

Saber brought the blade down in an arc, before Kirei stepped to the side and thrust forward the fist he held to his side. Saber stepped back, avoiding the brunt of the damage but still feeling incredible pain in her side. Before Kirei could follow up on his attack, Saber began to slash multiple times. A horizontal arc to the right, followed by another to the left, then a step and a thrust, which Kirei narrowly avoided. He couldn't capitalize on her opening because she let go of her God Arc, bringing her other fist around in a back hand. It struck him because it wasn't something he had been expecting at all.

Then she brought Excalibur back to a two-handed grip, and the dance continued. Saber would attack and Kirei would dodge, and occasionally Kirei would counter. While Saber had enough intuition to dodge the brunt of each attack, even being clipped by his punches was damaging. Eventually, it became a battle of attrition with Saber losing what little ground she had. It was one misstep that led to her downfall, stepping on a rock she didn't notice and tripping, letting Kirei land a straight hit on her, sending her flying. She tried to channel her Oracle into a slash but couldn't concentrate enough, only producing a golden flicker. She hit the ground hard, creating a deep furrow, before rolling and then eventually stopping.

As this was happening, Shirou was trying to push himself upwards, but the segments weren't budging and he couldn't push himself up far enough to get off of them. Because of the segments in his arms, he couldn't even throw his God Arcs. Gilgamesh wasn't much better, still struggling to get up, but his injuries were preventing him from succeeding. His recent bout of anger-fuelled adrenaline wasn't doing him any favours now that he's drained.

"Saber!"

Shirou could only call out helplessly as his friend was sent flying. As she was, the blades that Kirei had thrown upwards all finally landed. A few landed in front of him, like the knives and the scalpel, while the rusted pipe landed next to Shirou and the curved knife landed near Gilgamesh. Inexorably, his attention was drawn to the rusty pipe next to his head. It wasn't anything special, covered in dents and bent a bit out of shape. But what was special was how the sharper end of the pipe seemed to be dyed black. Looking to the other tools, he saw that their business ends were all covered in the same black substance.

As Kirei slowly began to gather up the fallen weapons, he paused in front of Shirou, kneeling down and smiling at him. "Let me ask you," he says, something in his voice making Shirou's skin crawl. "Do you believe in the same thing as Kiritsugu? Do you share the same dream?"

At that, Shirou's breath hitched. He should be able to answer in the positive. It's his reason for living, so of course he would... right? But if so then... why isn't he saying anything? Kirei hummed.

"I see. It seems you aren't clear on where your heart lies. While I had hoped you would prove to be more amusing than Kiritsugu... No, this should be just as fine. Either way, I shall treasure your expression in the comfort of the flames."

Looking away, he pulled the pipe out of the ground and continued on his way to Gilgamesh. At this point, Saber had begun to stir, but didn't appear to be able to get up either. Eventually, he stood in front of Gilgamesh, who now looked up and began to curse Kirei. Expletives spewed forth, and Kirei just shook his head as if he were dealing with a temperamental child. Leaving the curved knife in the floor, he stepped up to Gilgamesh and began to work. He took one of the plain knives and thrust it through Gilgamesh's right thigh, in the part his golden armour doesn't reach.

"Aah! Kirei, you damn mongre--"

Then another through his left knee, piercing through the armour and audibly breaking the cartilage.

"Aaahh!! Stop it, damn yo--"

He thrust a scalpel through Gilgamesh's left bicep, likely severing the tendons with how deep it was going.

"P-Please stop!!!"

And then he thrust the rusty pipe right through his stomach, eliciting a loud cry of pain.

"... W-Why... Kirei?"

His voice no longer held the confidence it once did, or the anger that had seemed a constant companion throughout the whole battle. Now his voice only showed fear and the barest hints of betrayal. Kirei only chuckled at how pathetic he sounded.

"Now, now, Gilgamesh. This was my plan from the very beginning. Did you really think that I was doing this for your benefit? That I gave you power for an altruistic purpose?"

He took a step back, gathered up the curved knife, then moved to Gilgamesh once more.

"No. You were to be my tool. My way to see more suffering in the world. To see that beautiful, horrifying scene once more."

Gilgamesh's eyes widened, and Shirou's did too. He couldn't possibly mean... But then he leaned forward and spoke.

"But do not worry. For soon, you shall have all of the power you could want at your fingertips."

In one smooth motion, he brought the wicked knife down into Gilgamesh's heart, without even needing to move away. Gilgamesh gasped and Kirei had one last thing to say.

"You could never defeat the Angra. But soon, you shall become the Angra."

When he said that he stepped away, and the blood seemed to run out of Gilgamesh's face. Then, he let out a guttural scream, primal and rife with fear.

"**NOOOOOOOOO!!!**"

All of the segments in Shirou seemed to vibrate with the cry, and while that hurt a lot, it also concerned him. Just as suddenly, the segments all ripped out of him and flew towards Gilgamesh. And by ripped, they dragged themselves out of Shirou and towards Gilgamesh before they left his skin, leaving large bleeding trails. The segments, instead of returning to the false Ea or even Gilgamesh's right arm, just flew straight into him, piercing his flesh before dissolving and leaving black splotches that grew where they once were.

Soon after, before Shirou could even try to get up, the sky darkened with a wave of the orbs that formed the Absolute Territory. Instead of their regular orb form, they were in their activated form as a mess of blades. Each one struck Gilgamesh and was just as quickly absorbed until eventually none were left, and Gilgamesh looked exactly like the smooth black figure Kirei had been carrying. Then he started pulsating. Violently, his limbs were twitching and his body was moving, and Shirou felt that sense of nostalgia come back with a vengeance.

He wasn't aware that he had asked what was happening until Kirei laughed and answered him.

"You know about the original experiments we had to develop the Spentas, correct? And you are also aware of the circumstances that led to the inception of the Angras? It was an instability in their emotions, an overwhelming level of negativity that caused it. That's all I did here. I integrated the Angra's Oracle with Gilgamesh's body, then pushed him to his physical and emotional limit with pain. And now," he splayed out his hands, like a priest speaking to his flock, "the Angra has returned."

The next second followed with a burst of force that sent Shirou flying, the feeling of an uncomfortable warmth on his skin, and a roar that felt familiar. Then he saw black, and startling red eyes.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, this chapter felt kinda crazy. There were bits I was like 'Yeah', and bits I was like 'Eh', but overall I think this was okay. Slight warning, next chapter is going to be a flashback chapter, so be ready for explanations that I couldn't just interject casually.**

**It's weird how I feel really comfortable with writing my idea of comedy, which is deadpan responses to stimuli. Maybe I should write a humour... anyway...**

**1st Note, Saber's second attempt at pulling out the segments in Shirou is basically what you do for sword-catching. A la, JJBA Part 3 and Anubis.**

**2nd Note, because I'm unoriginal, the curved dagger currently in Gil's heart is based off of Rule Breaker. Yaaaaaaayyy~**

**3rd Note, my explanation at the end felt like grasping at straws. I knew that this would happen to Gil for a while, I just didn't understand the science behind it. So I made some up. If you know how this works in a way that makes more sense than my explanation, please tell me.**

**Thank you to Trafford, Vinmoon, and victorkjds78 for favouriting or following.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: 3603**


	45. Interlude: The Past to Surpass

Kirei let out a breath as he left the lab for the day, nodding to his fellow researchers as he walked out. Weaving his way through the throng of people occasionally blocking his path, he made his way into the elevator for the Laboratory Floor. Securing himself within, he waited to see if anyone else would join him before reaching for the switch and selecting the Den.

_For a moment he expected to hear a faint voice to ask him to wait, but the moment passed and the elevator began to descend. _

Standing there, with his hands at his sides, he listened to the music playing in the elevator. He never bothered to learn the name of the song, but he understood why it played. It was supposed to inspire those working in Fenrir, supposed to fill them with resolve and determination. At least, that's what Kirei thought it was meant to do. He didn't feel anything when he heard it. It was just noise.

When the elevator stopped at the Den, he made his way outwards. The amount of people was much larger than in the little hallway Kirei came from, and the people within were much more varied. That likely had to do with the room acting as both a place to get assignments and an impromptu break room. He made his way to the left, avoiding all of the God Eaters and moving straight towards the exit to the Outer Ghetto. On the way, as he walked down the stairs, he saw the woman at the reception desk, Hibari if he remembered correctly, shoot him a polite smile before looking back to her current questioner.

_It reminded him of another smile, gentle and soft, belying the love that she apparently held for him._

Stepping through the doorway, Kirei could feel the acute change in temperature. It had been getting especially cold recently, so cold in fact that some people theorized it might start snowing soon. Snow was a rarity around the Far East Branch, with the exception of the Tranquil Temple near the mountains, and some parents were quite excited to show their kids snow for the first time. With a breath, he began to walk through the town. The occasional shifting of rocks underfoot juxtaposed with the sound of his feet hitting the floor, and served to keep Kirei company during his walk.

But on his daily commute back to his home, he glanced to his side and saw a large building. It wasn't a skyscraper or anything of the like, but compared to the surrounding buildings, it was quite large. Of course, the reason is clear if one looked at the sign above the building's doorway: 'Far East Orphanage'. It was, as the name implies, an orphanage. In it, any orphans of families related to God Eaters and even orphans that showed positive on the God Eater Aptitude test were kept there. Living in the orphanage was one Rin Tohsaka, the daughter of his teacher.

Rin Tohsaka was a topic he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Or at least, wasn't sure how he's meant to feel about it. He knew that, as his teacher's student, it was his responsibility to look after Rin. Especially since there was no one else to do so. His teacher's wife had passed away a few years before he did, around the same time the only family friend did. Kirei's own father, who had been his teacher's teacher, had died when Kirei had become an adult.

_And she had died a few years ago now, her words still fresh in his mind._

So it was only him that could care for her. It should have been him that cared for her. But he didn't. For some reason, he left her to the government's ministrations and, seeing that she was the last of her family, put her in the orphanage. Yet, Kirei couldn't bring himself to feel bad about it. He knew his inaction was a bad thing, but he didn't feel anything about it. If anything, there was a slight tingly feeling in his chest. But maybe it was just heartburn.

_He knew it wasn't, but he didn't want to think about what it really was._

Eventually, he made his way to his home. It wasn't large and it wasn't nice, but Kirei hardly needed anything like that. As long as it was functional, he would be okay with it. Opening the door, he shrugged off his black overcoat and put it on the counter immediately to his right. Taking off his shoes, he walked further into his house, making his way to the kitchen. Luckily, he recently got ingredients for him to prepare his favourite meal. The only thing to touch his heart.

With what anyone that knew Kirei would call fervor, Kirei prepped his ingredients and began to cook. A few minutes later, he was sitting at the table with a bowl of steaming hot mapo tofu before him. With the barest hint of a smile, he clapped his hands and spoke a short prayer before getting to work.

* * *

The next day he arrived at work bright and early, the sun only just rising above the horizon. He walked into the Den and was surprised at the sight of someone he did not recognise speaking with Hibari. While he didn't know everyone that worked at the Far East Branch, he inadvertently knew everyone that bothered to come to work as early as he did. But this person was unfamiliar, clad almost exclusively in black. A black trench coat, with black boots and spiky black hair. The man (and he knew it was a man, judging by the sound of his voice) was oddly distinct in the way that he was totally non-distinct. But he must have heard Kirei entering because he turned to look at him.

The first thing that stood out to Kirei was the man's eyes. He could tell from this distance that they were black, but it was how... empty they were that drew him in. Kirei had seen his own reflection a fair number of times across his life, and he understood himself well enough to recognize the look in the man's eyes. The man seemed to recognize that as well, as there was a widening to his eyes before they narrowed, his entire expression becoming guarded.

The exchange must have only been for a second, yet to the duo it felt like a full conversation. With a blink, Kirei broke himself out of the mental match and spoke.

"My name is Kirei Kotomine. It is nice to meet you."

He slightly bowed, and thought that maybe he found his chance. His last chance to find a way to be beautiful, like his father wanted. Maybe this man, as empty as him, could show him how to be happy. Or at least, they could try and understand it together.

"Kiritsugu Emiya. Nice to meet you too."

This time his smile was more present, and instead of showing his joy, it showed his anticipation for the future.

* * *

Kirei's early memories of his father were full of smiles and praise. But his father held just as many frowns and clenched fists, but he hid them away. It clearly had to do with the duties he once had as a God Eater, and even struggling with his own faith in God. For, Kirei's father, Risei Kotomine, had been raised in a Christian household before the Aragami had arrived on Earth.

He had grown up praying to and believing in God, confessing his sins and letting the light of the Lord push him forward with hope. When he had a son, he believed the love of God would shine on him too. But when Risei was around fourty was when the Aragami came, and he had to abandon his path to priesthood to fight them. He was one of the first God Eaters in the Far East Branch as well, when the advancement of God Eaters came up. He fought and fought, then one day he could fight no more and he retired. In his son, he tried to inspire the same belief in God that he had held in his youth.

Kirei believes that his father had passed away believing that he had managed to make Kirei love God, and that Kirei would grow up to be as beautiful as his namesake. Kirei was sad to let him know that he had failed. Just another thing that Kirei couldn't find happiness in.

But sometimes, he found himself praying regardless. It wasn't that he didn't believe in God, although some would fight the belief by saying that no God would allow such suffering, it was just that Kirei knew God wouldn't answer the only thing he would pray for. Yet he still did it, whether out of desperation, habit, nostalgia, or some mix of the three.

Currently, Kirei was praying to God for the sight before him. Kiritsugu Emiya was standing by his lonesome, clearly on some sort of break if the lit cigarette in his mouth was anything to go by. The polite thing to do would be to not bother him, but Kirei was much more interested in the opportunity presented to him. It had been a week since he first met Kiritsugu, and the two hadn't actually spoken to each other since then. Kirei had never seen him in the Den that early again, but now he had his shot. So with quick steps and some nervous anticipation he stepped up to Kiritsugu.

Kiritsugu looked up at the sound of steps and, upon seeing Kirei, brought up an eyebrow. He paused in his actions, bringing the lit cigarette away from his mouth and causing it to waft into Kirei's lungs. Ignoring the terrible smell and the distinct desire to start coughing, Kirei spoke.

"Have you ever wanted to achieve something, but slowly began to realize that what you wanted was impossible, no matter what you tried?"

Kiritsugu just stared at him in shock, his mouth going slack and his grip loosening enough for his cigarette to fall to the floor. A silence purveyed before Kiritsugu's jaw snapped shut and his eyes narrowed. With suspicion, he growled.

"What do you know about me?"

"Nothing, but your eyes told me a lot."

Once more a silence purveyed, before Kiritsugu grunted and walked away, his cigarette still burning on the floor. Watching Kiritsugu walk away, Kirei wondered if he had said something that bothered him. Maybe Kiritsugu was more sensitive about the topic than he was. With his regular blank look, Kirei walked away, continuing to his regular location. Luckily, he recently got fresh ingredients for him to make more mapo tofu.

* * *

Alongside faith in God, his father had also taught Kirei Bajiquan. While the thought of a Japanese man practicing Christian faith and being fluent in a Chinese martial art was an... amusing thought, Risei had taught his son Bajiquan as a meditation technique. Something to harmonize himself. It also served as a form of self defence, but the only thing Kirei really had to worry about was the Aragami, which he reasonably couldn't do anything about as a regular person.

But to digress, Kirei found himself following the motions, letting his body flow, and with it his mind. It was an exercise he found himself doing whenever he had finished a particularly spicy bowl of mapo tofu. Lets the heat flow out. But as he was doing it, he was reminded of a specific memory he had.

It was the first time he had ever cooked for her. He knew, from his father's reaction, that not everyone could handle his mapo tofu. But a part of him, an admittedly large part of him, wanted to make it for her anyways. Regardless of her preferences, regardless of her health, a part of him wanted to punish her for caring for something like him. And, with some reluctance, Kirei followed that part of his soul.

When he plated the meal, he watched in anticipation for her reaction. He waited for her to dislike the meal, to stop eating and complain, for anything. But instead, she took a mouthful of the tofu and complemented it before eating more. Even when it was obviously discomforting. Even when she clearly didn't like it. Even when she ran out of water and was red in the face. She kept eating it. And in that moment, Kirei felt a spike of envy in his heart. He envied this woman, and the love that allowed her to do stupid things that she shouldn't do. But he also felt regret. Regret that he could never love this woman like he should.

Shaking his head, Kirei ended his exercise and moved to wash up his dishes. He actually had a bit to look forward to tomorrow. Apparently his cell of scientists alongside a few others would begin work on a new project. Included in those cells of researchers is Kiritsugu Emiya.

* * *

Two God Eaters were introduced to the researchers for the Spenta Project as the subjects to control the Spenta. Kirei's initial impression wasn't anything much. They seemed polite and determined, and Kirei thought he saw a connection between the two, but aside from that they were average God Eaters. A woman with vibrant red hair and a man whose only unique feature were his bright golden eyes, both with colorful clothing and Armlets.

With the two was the project leader and the Acting Director of the Far East Branch, Paylor Sakaki. He was introducing the team to the duo, and trying to facilitate future connections for their later experiments. And as the introductions wrapped up, Sakaki sent everyone off, telling them to take a break for the day. Some of the researchers cheered, and others grunted, but slowly everyone dribbled out of the room until only Kirei, Kiritsugu, Sakaki, and the two God Eaters remained. Sakaki talked with the two God Eaters before bidding them farewell, and then there were three.

Kirei noticed that Kiritsugu seemed intent on talking to Sakaki, but just as intent on avoiding Kirei. He seemed to struggle with the choice, before making his decision and taking a step forward. Unfortunately, that seemed to catch Sakaki's attention as he immediately looked to the duo and smiled.

"Ah! Kiritsugu, I see you stayed behind to talk! And you are..." He took a glance at Kirei and seemed to start thinking if his tightened brow meant anything, before he snapped his fingers. "You're Kirei Kotomine, aren't you? It's nice to meet you. I've heard that you are quite adept at research involving the integral structure of Aragami and Oracle. You have actually made some contributions to the enhancement of the God Arc, you know?"

Kirei blinked. He hadn't expected the Director to be such a... bubbly person. Not bubbly in a happy sense, just bubbly in that he kept talking. And Kirei wasn't really equipped to deal with bubbly people.

_She wasn't very bubbly, she was instead much quieter, but in a way, her actions betrayed a bubbly heart._

Kiritsugu was also confused. He had done some research on Kirei after their little meeting almost a month ago and he knew the guy had good credentials, but there was nothing on his research affecting the God Arcs. Maybe he would have to reevaluate him...

Regardless of their surprise, Sakaki kept talking.

"Have the two of you met? I believe that the two of you would make quite good friends."

The statement caused a shift in the two. Kirei was feeling a tad more eager in terms of the direction this conversation was heading, while Kiritsugu became more wary. Ignorant of the shift, he continued.

"In fact, I believe the two of you should work on a joint project. I know it's a lot to ask, seeing as you're already a part if the Spenta Project, Kirei, but..." then he leaned in and whispered conspiratorally, "Kiritsugu doesn't have many friends. I think you might be able to get him to open up. Besides, you would get more pay for taking on more projects."

Kiritsugu groaned beside them at the obvious attempt at bribery, but Kirei didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he felt his lips pull up in an almost smile and answered.

"Of course, Professor."

Sakaki blinked, or he would have if his eyes weren't already closed, before leaning back and smiling, pushing up his glasses.

"Excellent! If that's the case then you two should follow me, and we'll..."

* * *

It had been a year since Kiritsugu had arrived at the Far East Branch, and some people, namely Sakaki, wanted to celebrate the fact with a gift or two. As Kiritsugu's 'partner', it was given as Kirei's responsibility to also give him a gift. In most cases, Kirei wouldn't think twice about it, and would just grab the first thing he saw that made him think of them.

_It was different with her. He _wanted _to get her a good gift, to see if it could give him any sort of content._

_It didn't._

But in Kiritsugu's case, Kirei wasn't sure if he wanted to bother. In the year they knew each other, and in the few months the duo worked on the side project together, Kirei had gotten little relevant information out of him. The best he got was names and who they belonged to, and a few bits and pieces of what he had been up to over the years as a God Eater. The issue with that is that it isn't relevant to what Kirei needed to know. It didn't get him answers on how to find happiness through good and wholesome means, and it didn't tell him if Kiritsugu knew what happiness was. And whenever he brought it up, Kiritsugu brushed him off.

But Kirei didn't like the thought of quitting just because he wasn't getting what he wanted, so he put on his coat, and made his way into the Outer Ghetto, heading deeper and deeper until he reached a shop that he was oddly fond of. 'Old Man of the Mountain' was full of odds and ends, a strange place that he discovered in his youth when wandering around looking for a gift for his father. He was struck by how odd the shop owner and the subsequent employees were.

Sliding open the door, Kirei stepped into the familiar setting, rows upon rows of useless bizarre items lining the walls. Behind the counter was his second favourite employee, still looking as she did the first time he laid eyes on her. She looked up, purple ponytail swaying a bit, before standing straight and putting a hand on her hip.

"Hey, Kotomine. Looks like you're finally back, huh? It's been a while."

"Hmm. Yes, yes, it's good to see you too Hyaku. As you guessed, I'm here to get a gift for someone. I'll be here for a little bit looking for something."

"If you say so."

And look he did. He went through each shelf, every row, even dug through the shelves that were piled. Until eventually he found a single, well-kept revolver round. It, in every way, made Kirei think of Kiritsugu. With confidence, he walked to Hyaku, who had been watching him the entire time. Straightening up, she gestured for the bullet, which Kirei gave, before ringing up the number. At the sight of the surprisingly costly price, Kirei did not balk, he merely blinked, before paying it whole. Hyaku looked on with surprise.

"Huh. This person must mean something to you. You were way more meticulous in finding a gift than you normally are. Whoever this is must be someone special. Is it your girlfriend? What was her name? Clau... Claudia! That's it."

"She's dead."

Silence greeted the response. And that was the truth. With swift movements, Kirei grabbed the bullet still in Hyaku's palm before walking away. As he left, he called out,

"Give my regards to the King."

* * *

As Kiritsugu was given some books by Sakaki, with Sakaki saying it was 'because you like heroes so much', Kirei stood in the back, thinking about the past. About her. It would have been over a year, maybe a year and a few months ago, when she passed away. She had been bed-ridden back then, and she never asked to go to the hospital. Kirei never bothered to ask for a room anyways.

How long had the two been like that? Her, lying in a bed and smiling weakly, and him, watching her with a blank expression. Occasionally, the two would make conversation. Quite often, Kirei would make and feed her food. Unlike the first time he made her food, he didn't want to make her suffer from his mapo tofu. It wasn't out of any desire for her not to suffer, it was just because Kirei didn't want to feel that envy again. He comforted himself with the fact that she was probably in discomfort anyways.

And then, one day...

"Ah, Kirei!"

Sakaki called for him and Kirei looked up, seeing Sakaki look at him expectantly and Kiritsugu looking done with his day, a few books stacked in his arms. With a nod, Kirei stepped forward and dipped his hand into his pocket, bringing forth the bullet and holding it out. Kiritsugu adjusted his hold on the books before grabbing the bullet and giving it an appraising look. With a slight quirk of his lip, he nodded to Kirei.

Then Sakaki brought the cake made of artificial ingredients in.

* * *

Today, proper experiments on the God Eaters had begun. First, the two were instructed to Resonate, as they had been perfecting over the last few months. When the duo's vitals were in sync, the actual experiment begun. In the first few months of the project, the researchers were experimenting with ways to manipulate Oracle through Resonance, calculations upon calculations going into it until a flawed but possible equation emerged.

Around the two God Eaters appeared motes of light, amber like regular Oracle. More and more motes appeared, and then slowly the motes began to rise and come together in a more corporeal form. But before anything solid could form, the motes were disrupted, and the duo's vitals began to descend. The plug was quickly pulled on the Oracle and the motes began to disappear. Some on-site medics came in to make sure they were okay, while the researchers reviewed the data they received.

Eventually, the God Eaters were confirmed to be fine and were sent out of the experiment chamber with good wishes and farewells. From there, the reviewing of the data continued long enough for theories to be exchanged on future equations and adjustments. All the while, Kirei sat at his desk, never commenting on any of the discussions but noting down his findings and everyone's theories before debunking the theories or corroborating on the ones he believed held merit.

Kirei didn't always take the notes of others and try and confirm them, nor did he ever really work on big projects. Originally, when he did research that could benefit other departments such as God Arc Development, he never gave his research over to the relevant department, he would always just stack it up and send it in to the higher ups, expecting it to get lost in the sea of paperwork. But clearly it didn't, if it reached the God Arc Development team and if Sakaki knew enough about it to trace it to him. But he changed because of her.

_It was because of her. She had told him that he should try working on big projects with others, that maybe he could make friends or help people with his work, and that they could help him be happy._

Kirei still kept to that belief, as a small, desperate part of him wanted to find happiness in completing the project in case he couldn't find what he was looking for in Kiritsugu.

But a part of him that he wouldn't acknowledge whispered into his mind, that if Kiritsugu couldn't help him then nothing could.

* * *

It was sometime after retesting of the Oracle Construct experiment took place, within Kiritsugu's 2nd year of being at the Far East Branch, that Kirei found himself in Sakaki's 'Office'. Just at some point, on a random day when doing calculations for the 3rd retesting, Kirei had been told to meet up with Sakaki at his lab the next day.

And there he was, sitting in a chair in front of Sakaki's desk, while Sakaki was sitting behind it. The two were looking at each other in silence for almost a minute before Sakaki decided to speak.

"Kirei... It has come to my attention that you were of great help in stabilizing the experiment when the Oracle Construct began to destabilize, and actually caught the skip in their vitals before anyone else did and notified the medics to keep an eye out."

At the accusations Kirei nodded, not entirely sure of where the conversation was heading. Sakaki continued.

"But... I have also been made aware of a crucial detail. One that you haven't told anyone." He leaned in, elbows on the table and hands clasped together, hiding his nose. "You haven't told anyone that today is..." Then he leaned back and threw his hands out wide, a smile on his face. "Your birthday!"

Kirei blinked. Looking for something to show him the date, he saw his confirmation on Sakaki's screen. The date was the 28th of November, the same day that Kirei was born twenty-something years ago. It wasn't exactly something Kirei remembered, seeing as gifts didn't give him any sort of happiness.

"So it is, Professor Sakaki. What of it?"

"Why, it's your birthday! That means it needs to be celebrated, doesn't it?"

At an unknown signal, Kiritsugu entered into the room, a steaming bowl in one hand and a book in the other. With quick movements, he placed the bowl down in front of Kirei, allowing him to see the contents of mapo tofu, and handed the book to Sakaki, while taking something off of the book and holding it. Looking at the bowl of mapo tofu, Kirei felt surprised. And then Sakaki began to sing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

It was a tune that Kirei recognised. He had heard it when his father was alive. In his earlier days, he remembered there being multiple voices, but later it was just his father. Then there were none.

_For a short time, there had been a voice, soft and loving, that sung to him. He never sung back._

As Sakaki continued, he belatedly realized that Kiritsugu was humming along. Looking at him, Kiritsugu just shrugged and looked away. Eventually, Sakaki finished with a 'Hip, Hip, Hooray!' before looking at Kirei expectantly. It took Kirei a moment before he remembered that there was normally a candle to blow out. Does that mean...

Taking a breath, Kirei blew on his bowl of mapo tofu, much to Sakaki's excitement. From there, Sakaki handed over the book to Kirei saying that it was a Bible that he had from before the Collapse. He said that he did some research and knew that Kirei was Christian, which he described as an odd choice but a fair one, and that he liked mapo tofu. Kirei chose not to question where he got his accurate information from, and instead turned to Kiritsugu, slightly expectant.

Kiritsugu raised an eyebrow before sighing and bringing his hand towards Kirei. In his hand was a small golden cross, adorned on a chain. It was actually quite nice looking. Before Kirei could take it, Kiritsugu mumbled out an excuse.

"This is just repaying your gift from earlier..."

Blinking, Kirei picked up the cross and chain, before putting it on. It dangled gently against his chest, and begged to be held in prayer. Looking up to see Kiritsugu and Sakaki looking at them, Sakaki smiling and Kiritsugu with a slight smile, Kirei realized that what he was looking at was objectively beautiful beyond compare. Almost as objectively beautiful as her smile. In fact, all three of them together would be the most objectively beautiful thing. With a hurried thanks, Kirei took a spoonful of the mapo tofu, and when the food hit his tongue he felt something warm slide down his face.

Sakaki and Kiritsugu panicked slightly (or Sakaki did, Kiritsugu worried a little), wondering if something was wrong with the food, until Kirei reassured them that the food was fine.

"I'm just... overwhelmed, that's all."

When he tasted the meal, he was overwhelmed with regret that he could not love these two as friends, and that he could not love their gifts.

* * *

It was on New Years Day that Kirei met another unique transferee. He had finished rereading the Bible that he was given by Sakaki when he decided to head for work. Today was his day off, but he had already done what he wanted to. He had read his Bible multiple times, had gone through his Bajiquan motions, and had even gone through a few of the old prayers that his father had taught him. Despite already having a Bible and a cross from his father's priest days, he didn't want to tell Sakaki and Kiritsugu that, and instead just chose to use them.

So, almost bored out of his mind, Kirei headed towards the Den to see if he could pick up some work or even just listen to other people talking. Maybe he could talk to Kiritsugu. In the almost three years they've known each other, they never got a proper continuation on Kirei's question. At some point, Kirei just stopped bothering trying to ask and found himself feeling... content? Content, then, with the status quo. Of course, Kirei still wanted to know, but he figured he would have a better chance of Kiritsugu coming to him about it rather than the other way around.

Eventually, Kirei made his way to the Den and walked through the doorway. As opposed to his usual arrival time of the break of dawn, Kirei arrived at around midday, and as was usual, or at least it might have been usual since Kirei was rarely in the Den at this time, the place was moderately full. There were some God Eaters in, having a break, and there were some civilians sitting around the reception desk, mostly worried parents or family.

But what stood out was the person speaking to Hibari. She was short, with blonde hair done up in a bun and adorned in a blue combat dress. While her appearance wasn't what was necessarily eye catching, it was what was on her wrist that was. Instead of the standard red and black Armlet most God Eaters had, or even the black and red ones that he heard the Blood Unit had, she had an Armlet that was iron grey. In fact, it looked like an extremely thick shackle. While Kirei was busy looking at her Armlet, he didn't notice Hibari look at him before smiling as she got an idea.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kotomine! Would you mind helping our newest transfer out?"

Kirei looked to Hibari with confusion, before looking back to the God Eater and seeing her face. The first thought he had was that she was a foreigner. That should have been obvious from behind but it really wasn't with all of these vibrant haired God Eaters. The second thought was if God Eaters from wherever she was from were issued different Armlets. Ignoring his thought, he stepped forward.

"What seems to be the problem, Miss Hibari?"

"Just Hibari is fine. But, Saber here has been assigned to see Director Sakaki and then Mr. Emiya. And since you're close to Mr. Emiya, I thought you might be able to take her to him."

She ended the request off with a smile, no doubt meant to ensure that Kirei would accept. He sighed, lamenting that he wasn't close enough to Kiritsugu that he would actually know where he would be at this time. Although, if he does this, he might be able to find out. He quickly accepted.

"Of course. Well then, shall we?"

He nodded to the so called 'Saber', who nodded back, before making his way to an elevator. He chose the Laboratory floor, and when they were both inside they went up. The ride went by in silence, neither really seeming like they want to speak. When the elevator arrived, Kirei led the way, weaving around the researchers in the halls on break before reaching Sakaki's Lab. With a brief knock, he opened the door.

Like usual, Sakaki was sitting in his chair, looking over some research or another on his screen. At the sound of his door opening, he looked up and smiled at the sight of Kirei and the woman.

"Ah. It seems I've lost track of time. Apologies for that. You're our new transfer from the England Branch, Saber, correct?" At her nod, he continued. "It's good to meet you, then. If you didn't know, the person that guided you was Kirei Kotomine, a researcher here. Now if I'm not mistaken, you're meant to meet Kiritsugu soon, right? Would you have any ideas where he is, Kirei?"

"I had come here hoping you would."

"Hm. Well that's inconvenient. Where would he be? Oh, how about-"

Before he could finish his thought, the door opened again, this time with Kiritsugu in the entrance scratching the back of his head. He walked in, not looking towards Sakaki.

"Hey, Sakaki. Do you have any idea where I can find the transfer? Hibari said she was heading to yo- Oh."

He stopped when he saw the three at Sakaki's desk. With a slightly awkward cough into his hand, he looked to Saber and introduced himself.

"My name is Kiritsugu Emiya. It looks like I'll be your chauffeur while you're here. Pleasure working with you."

"Likewise. Please, call me Saber. I will be depending on your support."

Saber walked towards him and stuck out her hand. Kiritsugu looked at it with a raised eyebrow before bringing his hand to shake hers. From there, the two left the lab and began the tour, leaving Kirei behind with Sakaki. He just looked blankly at the empty doorway, before Sakaki gently pat his back.

"Don't worry. He hasn't left you for someone else."

Kirei continued to look blankly forward.

* * *

They had finally reached the final phases of testing. Soon, a complete Oracle Construct should be made. With that complete, the next step would be to get more God Eaters to Resonate with the original two, allowing them to know hot form their own Oracle Constructs.

With a breath, Kirei cleaned up for the day, turning off his computer and stacking his paper. Leaving his papers on his desk, he walked out of the lab, turning off the lights as he did. He walked down the long hallway towards the elevator, before feeling a slight thirst and turning to the vending machine. He sidled up to it and perused the drinks available, before selecting the one that sounded particularly spicy. As he went to pay for it, he heard a voice from behind.

"I wouldn't recommend that. It doesn't taste too nice, and it's too spicy to be useful. But, food's food I guess."

Turning his head, Kirei saw Kiritsugu leaning against the wall, a lit cigarette in his mouth. With a shrug, he selected the drink anyways and picked it up from the machine. Opening the can, he took a sip and couldn't hide his grimace. It tasted terrible, for lack of a better word. Not even the spiciness he could vaguely feel could help how bad it was. He heard a dry chuckle from Kiritsugu, but ignored it in favor of finishing the drink as quickly as he could. When the can was empty, Kirei threw it into the trash and repressed a shudder.

He felt something tap his shoulder, and when he looked over he saw Kiritsugu holding out a bottle with a clear liquid. Kiritsugu shook it lightly and told him it was water. With a nod, Kirei took the water and cleansed himself of the vile taste. Truly, that drink was the epitome of suffering. With a muttered thanks, Kirei looked to Kiritsugu, who was sitting down on the bench next to the machine. He was looking at Kirei, and Kirei took the hint to sit next to him.

Silence reigned between the two plain looking men in black, sitting on a bench. It extended and Kirei just idly sipped at his water, wondering if Kiritsugu was going to say something. When Kiritsugu finished his cigarette and flicked it into the trash, he looked straight ahead. The silence continued until he spoke.

"You asked me a few years ago if there was something I wanted to do. Something that I wanted to achieve, despite it being impossible. There was."

Kirei felt his anticipation mounting. This was it! What he had been waiting for! But then why... why did he feel dread?

"When I was young, I had a dream. But as I got older, I realized that dream wasn't feasible, and trying to live by it would just hurt people. But I still tried, because I didn't want to abandon it."

A sinking feeling in his gut...

"Did I ever tell you that I had a wife? Her name was Irisviel. Together, we had a daughter named Illyasviel. I... I loved her, you know? With her, I thought that maybe I didn't have to live for my dream. But then she passed away. My daughter... she's being kept from me. I'm allowed to visit, but I can't take her without major consequences."

...digging up into his heart.

"And what was your dream?"

Kirei asked, the question feeling fuzzy as it came out of him. He just did it, but he couldn't remember moving his lips to ask the question, and yet he needed to know.

"My dream? It was to be a Hero of Justice. To save everyone. Dumb, huh? But it's beautiful."

At the answer, Kirei felt everything stop, before suddenly coming into startling clarity. At once he could identify everything within his sight and feel every movement if his body. The sight before him wasn't beautiful, but it was something he wouldn't forget. Standing, Kirei dusted off his jacket and tugged on his cross.

"Thank you for telling me, Kiritsugu Emiya. But it seems I have something to do, so I'll be off."

He walked away, feeling his lips tug upwards into a smile as his eyes stung.

* * *

_It was an average day for the duo. Wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold. Just right for her. Kirei remembered that she had been especially quiet that day. Not much movement, nothing much said, although that wasn't unusual, and it was odd. That day, Kirei decided to keep a close eye on her, out of worry for her health. He sat by her side for almost the whole day, only leaving to make food._

_All she did was look at him and smile. Her short white hair lying against the bed and her forehead, oily from improper maintenance. Her left golden eye stared at him with love, and he was certain that if the right weren't covered with an eye patch it would be doing the same._

_At some point, she brought up her left hand, looking unhealthily pale, and quietly asked for Kirei. With a nod, he complied and took her hand in his own. It was cold, and he could barely feel the life within. Her hand was weakly clutching at his own, and Kirei decided to return the gesture. She seemed to let out a happy sigh, before showing him the brightest smile he had ever seen. It was weak, but it showed all her teeth and the depths of her heart. There was a clenching in his heart, but he ignored it._

_"Kirei..."_

_She spoke to him, and her voice was quiet. It sounded dry, and her breath was wheezy._

_"You know... I'm about out of time."_

_Her weak grip tightened, just a bit, before loosening again. Kirei nodded at the statement. He figured as much._

_"So, I just wanted... to say..."_

_She took away her toothy smile, just trying to convey the weight of her feelings with her eye, even as it filled with tears._

_"I love you, Kirei."_

_The tears dripped down her face, but she did not sob. In many ways this woman was much stronger than Kirei ever could be._

_"I am sorry that I could never love you, Claudia."_

_Instead of showing sorrow, she just let out a pitiful laugh. As her eye closed, she pointed her finger in Kirei's hand towards him._

_"Of course you do... Why else... are you... cry... ing?"_

_Then she let out a breath, her eyes closing for the last time. Claudia Hortensia was dead. But Kirei did not cry. His face was dry, as were his eyes. But he felt sadness. He was sad._

_Sad that it wasn't him that killed her._

* * *

He met the day with a feeling of clarity. Instead of waiting for dinner, he made himself mapo tofu for breakfast. It made him later than he normally was to work, but not later than was strictly allowed. He walked to work with a smile on his face, one that people would call disturbing or even sinister.

He wore it into work, ignoring people's questions as to why he was later than usual and what he was smiling about. He wore it until the God Eaters came into work for another test, and he wore it all the way through the experiment. When the experiment was done, he finished his work quickly, saying he had something to do. He shrugged off Sakaki with his smile, then followed after the two God Eaters.

From there, he saw that the two actually lived in the same house, and even had a young child with red hair and golden eyes living with them. Maybe they were a couple and the boy was their son? They looked old enough, Kirei supposed. But that wasn't what he was looking for. He wanted to find issues and problems, to air them out and break them down. And he was determined to succeed.

Someone like him couldn't be saved, after all.

* * *

It was near the end of testing. Unless something terrible happened that completely broke their equations, the Spenta Project should be coming to a close soon. Or at least, the first phase would. But Kirei saw this day as a beginning. He had been working hard for the past few weeks, and now it was midway through February. Soon all his hard work would pay off.

The experiment began like normal, with the two God Eaters entering Resonance. To anyone paying attention, their vitals took a bit longer than usual to sync up, but most were too distracted by the excitement of almost finishing the project. When the two did finally Resonate, motes of Oracle appeared. Amber and twisting, they formed together, creating an almost humanoid giant. But very quickly, their vitals began to lose sync, but Kirei disguised that by adjusting the parameters of what was acceptable. It wouldn't hide the actual vitals, but it would stop the alarm.

It was a few seconds later that something started happening. The God Eaters started twitching, throwing their arms up and starting to scream. The motes of Oracle began to change colour, going from amber to vermillion, and something began to come from them. Before anyone could try and enter the room, Kirei moved over to the door switch and set it to lockdown mode. The entrance ways to the room were sealed, and very quickly things went to hell.

In the lab with Kirei, the researchers just began to realize something horrible was happening and that Kirei was doing something to perpetrate it. As they began to work into a frenzy, Sakaki was the most vocal of them all. He had noticed that the vitals were losing sync and was confused when the alarms didn't go off, but now he knows Kirei is doing something.

"What are you doing, Kirei!?"

His question made it over the crowd of people, and was answered by a manic laugh.

"Hahahahahahahaha! Why, I am just doing what befits a monster like me. Isn't it logical to do what makes you happy, Professor?"

As he looked at Kirei with dawning horror, he noticed that inside the experiment room it was even worse. The humanoid Oracle Construct had taken a more beastly appearance, with claws and a wolf-like head. Instead of amber, or even vermillion, it had turned black, with the only colour being its red eyes. Surrounding it was a black, almost brown, liquid on the floor. It brought its claws up and let out a roar, shattering the glass window and setting the liquid around it on fire.

When the window broke, the researchers finally began to run away in a panic. As they did, Kirei laughed once more. Gesturing with his arms held out, he spoke.

"Now this, is my true passion! To see suffering, that is the only thing that I can enjoy!"

He smiled at Sakaki... Before coughing out a lung's worth of blood. Reaching his hand to his chest, he saw that there was something currently piercing through his heart. Turning his head, he saw the Corrupted Oracle Construct, its left arm stretched towards him. With a flick of its wrist, it threw Kirei away, towards some of the liquid, before breaking down the wall behind it with its right arm, letting it reach the Outer Ghetto below.

Then, the world went up in flames.

* * *

All Kirei knew, for a while, was burning pain and negative feelings. There was sadness, betrayal, and anger, but then there were more. There was fear in large amounts, and occasionally there was sadness. There was also quite a lot of regret. There was even a dark sense of curiousity, once. Then the darkness receded, and Kirei felt wind brushing his face. With a groan, he pushed himself up from the floor.

With groggy eyes, he found himself somewhere black and orange. Stumbling forward, he tried to gather his bearings but instead bumped into and then fell over something. Then he found himself in freefall, an ocean of black and orange suddenly coming into clarity as rubble and flames. With a twist faster than Kirei thought he was capable of, he positioned his body to take the landing on his feet and prepared to roll, even though he knew there was no realistic way he would survive the fall in a good enough condition. He struck the ground and, instead of the immense pain he had been expecting, he withstood the pressure and rolled to the side, before landing back on his feet.

Brushing off his coat, he looked down at himself in surprise. In his chest region, there was a huge hole in his clothes. He remembered being stabbed then thrown away, then all there was was darkness. But more importantly...

Looking around, he saw that the rubble was actually remnants of the Outer Ghetto, and that the flames were flowing along the black liquid, or rather, mud that was everywhere. Actually, now that he listened...

Screams. He heard screams resounding throughout the flames. Screams of fear, of anger, of desperation. It all formed a cacophony, and Kirei loved. Every. Single. Scream. It filled him with genuine joy to hear it. So to get more joy, he walked through the flames and rubble, and listened to more screams. Unfortunately, it seemed that the fire had already been raging for a while, so there weren't that many alive. But those alive, he made sure to savor their suffering when he refused to save them. But then eventually, the flames dissipated, and with it the screams.

Seeing that there was no more suffering to enjoy, and that he would likely be branded as a rogue if he returned, Kirei decided it would be best to leave and find somewhere else to go. Preferably, somewhere with people...

Before he began to leave, he noticed someone standing in the distance. They looked forlorn and scared, but also empty. They were leaning against a wall, their golden hair standing out in the dim light. Walking to them, Kirei noticed that it was a boy in his teenage years wearing a white t-shirt and long camo pants, both stained black by the mud. At the sound of Kirei's steps, the boy looked up to him, giving Kirei a good look at his crimson red eyes. Seeing the cylinder shaped God Arc held loosely in his right hand, and the red Armlet adorning the same wrist, Kirei made the simple assumption that the boy was a God Eater.

When he saw the boy's empty gaze, and how the mud seemed to cling to his skin, Kirei realized that maybe his fun didn't have to end just yet. Taking another look at the boy, he felt another smile pull at his lips, before he reached out a hand.

"Would you like to become powerful?"

The boy looked at him, blood staining his shoes, and nodded.

* * *

It was convenient that the God Arc lab near the epicenter of the fire was unlocked and left unattended, otherwise Kirei wouldn't have been able to take the side project that he and Kiritsugu had worked on years ago. It was an advancement for something called Prototype God Eaters, specifically for the 'Archer' class. Kirei didn't have enough dependence on his luck to try and work on the boy's God Arc now, but he would once he believed the two were far enough away.

Feeling the sand underfoot, Kirei realized that this would be the first time since joining Fenrir that he was outside of the Far East Branch. It wasn't particularly exciting, but that didn't matter. He looked over his shoulder to see the boy that he grabbed, looking emotionless for the most part but Kirei could see he seemed slightly annoyed. With a shrug, Kirei continued walking. The boy would just have to wait.

And he would too. But hopefully not for long.

Twelve years later, and his plans had finally come to fruition. As he saw Gilgamesh, his ward and pawn, screaming in pain and fear, he felt a smile light up his face. So that's what he sounded like.

Looking to his right, he saw the child of Kiritsugu Emiya. He had white, spiky hair and tan skin, with heterochromia. His right golden eye and his little tuft of red hair reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place it. The son of Kiritsugu Emiya (and for some reason that didn't sound right) didn't seem to share his father's childish dream, at least not in its entirety, but held an emptiness that Kirei thought was familiar. It was different to Kiritsugu's in that it was an emptiness in his heart, one he tried to fill but couldn't. Like Kirei's own emptiness.

His confusion was evident, so Kirei deigned to share what was happening, and delighted in the boy's expressions. When Gilgamesh started to absorb the various mud-stained segments and became black like the Angra Idol, he knew that his plan had finally reached fruition.

With a laugh, he saw the idol burst into mud, and saw the mud be set aflame. As the beast he remembered, with clawed digits and the head of a wolf, once more appeared, he felt his heart soar in joy at the thought of the suffering he saw repeating.

And then his heart burst into flames.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, big chapter. Biggest chapter really. Didn't know I didn't know much about Kirei. Probably disappointed a lot of people. Probably disappointed myself too. But I'll deal with the sadness when this is all done. Should just be the next chapter, then an epilogue. Maybe even an omake after it.**

**Yeah, I brought back the shop. Don't worry, it probably won't come back again. Probably.**

**Also, disclaimer. I don't own the Happy Birthday song. Please don't fine me Disney.**

**Thank you to Gabrielvg and GonzalotheChaldean for following or favouriting, and thank you to ptl for reviewing once more.**

**Goodbye.**

**Word count: ****8675**


	46. Surpassing the Past: End

_"It looks like... things are coming to a head."_

_Archer stood atop his hill, and 'watched' as an explosion consumed Shirou's vision. While he couldn't physically see what was happening, he was able to sense it through his connection to Shirou and Unlimited Blade Works. His brow furrowed at what he could feel from Shirou and from what he could see in this 'world'._

_The gears in the sky, once so proud in their lustre and motion, were beginning to slow. Almost unnoticeably, rust began to spread across them as the blue sky began to darken, clouds shuffling towards the 'sun'._

_But the most noticeable change was the land below. From the sand, grass burst forth, growing luscious and green, but suddenly wilting, becoming dry and brown.The blades impaled in the world, both normal and God Arc, began to dull and rust, but also began to vibrate, as if in anticipation._

_But separate from all of that, the white corruption that grew so long ago, that became orderly as time passed, seemed to shine. It didn't grow or move, but one could feel that wouldn't be the case for long._

_And the red-clad Archer watched it all, before looking up to the sky with his brow furrowed._

_"Make it through, Shirou."_

* * *

A groan made its way out of Shirou. With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself off of the dirt floor, holding back another groan of pain. He opened his eyes and saw a blur of browns, greys, and black. Rubbing them, he blinked and everything came into focus again. Then he felt something off. It felt... hot. With a slow turn of his head, he fought off the feeling of dread and tried to ascertain the source of heat.

He saw flames.

He saw black mud, and flames licking across it.

He saw flames cover the floor and the buildings, smoke rising and beginning to blot out the midday sun.

For a second, _he saw hell_.

Then it all came back. With a gasp, he spun around to face the epicentre of the flames. And he saw a large, hulking beast, it's pitch-black body seeming to absorb the light around it. It stared at him, its crimson red eyes, pupilless and glowing, pinning Shirou down. Even as small flames rolled across its body and towards the mud below it, neither Shirou nor the monster moved.

Shirou felt himself being dragged into the past, a vision of that hell superimposing over his sight. The sky had darkened, ash carried on the wind, and the boy felt himself succumbing- to regret, to fear, to simple death, he didn't know. A flash of someone who's face he didn't recognise, but _he did_, someone with brown hair and blue eyes, _someone he wanted to save but couldn't he couldn't save anyone what sort of arrogant fool would think he could-_

The sound of someone grunting followed by a wet laugh brought him out of his... introspection. Turning, but keeping an eye on the monster, he looked down to see Kirei Kotomine, the impossibly powerful 'priest', bleeding profusely from a hole in his chest. It was also at that moment that the scent of burning flesh made itself known.

"Heh. So, is this how it ends? My heart burst by the same being that gave it? Cursed to only watch the first fleeting moments of newfound despair? Truly, this is the ultimate punishment..." Turning his head, he looked into Shirou's eyes, which held a certain amount of disgust and even hate. A smile bloomed. "At least I was able to witness your despair... Shirou... Emiya..."

Shirou watched as the man who was impossibly alive finally died, before his corpse was suddenly consumed by a wave of the flaming mud. Shirou jerked away, before looking back to the monster, or rather, the Angra, and saw that it was now twitching, its colossal yet indistinct muscles shifting. All at once, Shirou realized that he was unarmed, his God Arcs evidently being forced away from the blast. Taking a step back, he thrust out his arms and flexed his fingers, feeling for his Unlimited Blade Works.

When he was thrown back by the blast, he must have lost his grip, especially considering that he felt both of them lying somewhere far behind him. On a somewhat related note, he noticed that he was missing the right half of his shirt, showing off his mismatched tan and pale skin. Pulling on the tethers of Oracle that always connect him to his God Arcs, and noting how he was running out of Oracle, he let out a sigh of relief when they flew into his hands.

Then the Angra twitched, and it let out a noise. Its wolf-like head turned away from Shirou, looking to the sky, before its maw opened wide. Then a roar shook the world.

* * *

Sakaki looked at the screens showing static with a growing sense of worry. The cameras themselves were placed at poor angles to view the battle, and when the explosion occurred it was wide enough to destroy any that were of use. He couldn't help the concern and fear growing at the prospect of what could be happening to his God Eaters. Regardless of contractual obligations, he genuinely cared for all of them.

Quickly, he tried the comms, which had gone silent a few minutes before the explosion. When no one picked up, his concern only continued to grow. Could something have happened? The explosion did sound like it was powerful...

Shaking his head of the damning thoughts, he radioed the other God Eaters, the ones he sent to evacuate and watch over the civilians. It may be foolish of him to deprive the civilians of their guards, but he knew that if he didn't suppress the threat he knew was there then nothing could keep them safe. So, with a solemn tone, he gave the order for the guarding God Eaters to assist in the defeat of the enemy.

But his gaze was drawn to the readings on the scanner, how it was now only a single point representing the Angra, and how it was much more concentrated than the previous two.

"Shirou..."

* * *

The roar was followed by another explosion. Thick black mud released from its frame, coating the landscape around it. The force of the mud was strong enough that it crushed the more rickety of the buildings. But along with the mud came fire, and that fire surrounded everything. It grew large enough that it moved beyond the mud, flicking across the metal and wood of the houses. From the fire came smoke, dark and billowing. It grew and grew and grew, encompassing the bright blue sky, giving the illusion of night.

Shirou was staring at his dreams, his worst nightmares made manifest. He felt an ache, deep and weathered in his heart. It was like everything was leaking out. His emotions, his memories, his identity. He felt small again, tears staining his face, becoming sticky from the flames heating them. Slowly, he brought his hands up towards his ears, to try and muffle the screams. But he stopped.

He looked down at his hands, and in them were his God Arcs. His Unlimited Blade Works. Their black handles, smooth and perfectly made to fit his hands, blending well with his tan skin. A representation of his strength, of his ideals, of his friendships. That made him pause. His friendships. That's right. These blades were used to save Sakura. These blades killed Shinji. These blades fought against Heracles. They helped him save Illya, and have kept him and his friends alive.

There were plenty of ups and downs, plenty of problems to face and overcome, but he didn't regret any of it. Then he thought of his friend much closer to home, the personality housed in his blades, the one that looked so much like his current self. The one that gave him a hand, that consulted him at his lows. The one that he reassured and in turn was reassured by.

These blades in his hands were so much more than just blades. So much more than God Arcs. They were his strength. They meant so much. Because they were the distinction between Shirou Emiya and the nameless boy that wandered through the flames. Then, everything was clear again. He looked back up to the Angra, the beginnings of a smirk playing across his face. He brought his hands down to his sides, before taking a single step forward.

The ground cracked from the force behind it, and he raised his right arm, Bakuya pointing directly to where the Beast's heart would be. His eyes reflected the fire surrounding them, burning bright with his newfound resolve. Heated steel and melted gold stared into unerring red, and his smirk growed, the snark he absorbed from Archer empowering him. Just a little bit.

"I have no regrets, huh? Then this is the only path. And you," his grip on his God Arcs tightened, and he put his weight on his front foot, "Are blocking the way!"

He sped forward, ignoring the black mud that clung to his shoes and the fire that tried to burn his flesh. His eyes were entirely focused on the Angra, which was now growling.

And so, Shirou fought a battle to surpass the past.

* * *

_Just as suddenly as the grass died, it began to rejuvenate. Dead brown drained into lively green all around, some stalks fully changing while others were midway. The rust that creeped up the gears stopped, but they remained motionless in the sky. Once more, the skies cleared, with the sun beginning to shine even brighter, but not unpleasantly so._

_The red bowman continued watching, a soft smile peaking through. After all, his partner had regained his determination, and even found something else. A look downward showed him that their hill was almost entirely grass. There was only one patch of sand, surrounded by the only fully dead grass in the plains._

_"Staring into the past, ignorant of the future. With blood of Oracle and heart aflame, walk your path and fulfill your goals! How's that for a heroic poem, Shirou?"_

_His only response was the wind blowing through the grass._

* * *

Maybe a flurry of strikes wasn't exactly the best idea...

When Shirou rocketed forth, he brought his blades back to allow for a cross-slash. Instead of the resistance he expected, his God Arcs just slid right through its midsection. Before he landed into the Angra, he caught himself by putting his foot against it, pushing himself off. When he landed, he moved forward again, this time trying to attack at the ankles and knees, but every strike just slid through.

A growl was his only warning before a large black backhand came for him. He barely got his God Arcs up in time, not even in Shield Form, before flying through the air, right side stinging. Very quickly, Shirou found himself reacquainted with the ground, the dirt just irritating his wounds.

As he stood up, he saw the Angra continue to just stand there, almost like a statue if not for its skin looking like it was shifting and its head slowly opening and closing its jaw. Shirou grunted before taking off once more. This time he went for an aerial attack on the arms. Once more his weapons just slid through like there was nothing there. When he eventually landed on the floor, he took a chance and tried to pool his very little amount of Oracle into his God Arcs.

Once he felt it was enough, he went to swing. At the same time, the Angra began to retaliate, once more bringing its clawed limb to bear. When the two connected, Shirou was sent flying. He once again rolled across the floor, but then quickly got up. The main difference between a minute ago and now though was the small smirk that had resurfaced. Even if it was for a moment, he felt it.

He felt his God Arcs bite into its hand, and saw some of its black blood coat his blades. The beast did too if its reaction was any indicator. It once more stood still, only this time it held its hand before it. Its monstrous head was slightly downturned, its piercing red eyes staring at the cut on its hand. Without warning, it clutched its hand, causing a splatter of mud to explode from the hand, before howling.

Unlike the last howl, this one did not preempt mud. This one instead preempted fire. The mud around it immediately burst into flames, with the mud already on fire beginning to flare blue. Slowly, flames also crawled up the Beast, illuminating the edges and crevices of its pitch black body. Then, it looked down to Shirou, stared him in the eyes, and, with an unsettling sound, smiled.

At least, Shirou thinks it was a smile. Either way, it looked like the Angra was getting serious. He tightened his grip and lowered his stance. Well so was he.

* * *

"What's your arrival time?"

The two-way radio crackled as the other side responded.

"Should be T-minus one minute. What should we be expecting, Director?"

The old man thought back to the events of ten years ago, of the mud and the fire that appeared without warning and disappeared just as suddenly. Then he thought to the man behind that incident, and the man behind this one, the one that lived. Finally, he thought of the monster he saw fighting the boy that had become something like a nephew to him. The monster from back then, the same monster now.

"Watch out for fire. It seems to have an affinity for that. As well, watch out for its mud. It seems to conduct flames. Its physical capabilities are unknown, but it likely possesses strength of a regular Medium Aragami and an agility exceeding that. And one other thing. No matter what, don't be submerged by the mud."

A beat of silence. Then,

"Understood."

The line went silent, and Sakaki looked down at his clasped hands as they shook. It was odd, he thought, how the children of his morally ambiguous friends seemed to become people he deeply cared about. If he ever could, Sakaki would get Soma back from his doctor friends to meet Shirou and Illya, if only for the satisfaction he would feel from Soma's surprise.

He was broken from his musing by the other transmission system he had that connects him to the workers in the Den. It seemed this one was coming from one of the God Arc labs. Pressing the transmission button, Sakaki accepted the call. Almost immediately, the person on the other side spoke.

"Um, Director! Something's uh... Something's happening to one of the God Arcs down here! It's-It's the one that Emiya had been working with earlier!"

Sakaki blinked. Something was happening to... Ea was it? He cleared his throat.

"What's happening to the God Arc?"

"U-um... Nothing much, just uh... just a lot of shaking. And I think it's moving. A bit. I can hear the metal grinding as it moves. So uh... What should we do Director?"

"Hmm," Sakaki hummed to himself. This could either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. Hopefully the personality behind the God Arc wasn't seeking vengeance. With that in mind..., "I would suggest continuing to monitor it but from a safe location."

When the caller agreed with less worry in their tone, Sakaki hung up before going back to monitoring the cams and occasionally checking the radar. He sighed once more, hoping for the best, before leaning forward and submerging himself in his almost uselessness.

* * *

_Archer could feel it. At the edges of his awareness, beyond his connection to Shirou, he could feel the foreign presence in the mindscape of his partner. It helped that it wasn't the first time he had felt a foreign presence, nor was it the first time he felt this particular presence. After all, it had been less than a day since the presence was here. But what was on Archer's mind was the presence's intentions._

_Did it seek to harm his partner, or to aid him? Unfortunately, Archer could not read this presence at all, not helped by the fact that they've never met. Even with Rin, Saber, Sakura, and Illya, he experienced interactions with them vicariously through Shirou. But he couldn't feel what Shirou feels when he's in here._

_So now, Archer found himself with a choice. Stay on his hill and not meet his guest, or go to his guest and risk having to fight them. Well, in the latter case he had very few doubts he would lose, especially considering he knew how to utilize the mindscape to its fullest._

_Regardless, he had to make a choice. Friend or foe, he would have to confront them eventually. With a sigh, Archer dug his feet into the grass below before pushing off, sending himself flying and leaving a small swirl of dust behind._

* * *

Shirou didn't wait. He leapt forward, trying to avoid the flames covering the ground and those covering his opponent. He readied his God Arc, bringing it above his shoulder while leaving the other near his waist. Once more, he was right in front of the Angra. Since he had found that he could deal damage, he decided on his original plan: Debilitate it.

At the foot of the giant, he brought his God Arc rocketing down onto its knee. Except, Shirou hit nothing. Shirou blinked at the sudden disappearance of a **giant **monster, but didn't get the opportunity for much else when he heard a deep, wet breath, almost like a huff of laughter, before being struck from behind.

This time, Shirou couldn't even block, so everything **hurt**. He went tumbling across the ground, occasionally striking some of the mud and burning his skin. Before he would crash-land in a puddle of the stuff, he found his balance and managed to shift to his Bow, releasing a weak Oracle shot and destroying enough mud for him to land safely. And land he did, poorly, panting up a storm, arms stinging and his back burning.

Shirou had a stray thought, specifically on how this all probably wasn't too good for his hygiene, but before he could snark about it the Angra made its move. With another 'laugh', it brought its arms up, the limbs deforming into pillars of black, before bringing them crashing down. From them, no, from the very Earth itself, came a wave of mud. It was tall enough to obscure the Angra, and wide enough to block Shirou's field of view. And it was approaching very, very fast.

In almost no time at all, Shirou was being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the wave. But he grit his teeth and turned his body, taking a hold of his Oracle bowstring and pulling backwards. With a harsh breath, he pushed what little Oracle he had left into the one arrow, and aimed for where he had the greatest chance of breaking through the wave and hitting the Angra. Then, he let go, with a harsh cry of, "Caladbolg!"

From outside, it seemed as if a great neon light appeared, before being swallowed by the pitch black wave. But then, a part of the wave bubbled up before bursting, spewing forth a shot of the neon green energy. It reached the figure from which the wave came forth, and almost struck. It was as if the figure was in one position one second, then suddenly out of the way the next, with no movement in between. But its efforts were all for naught as the shot then exploded.

Shirou, who was watching the proceedings first hand, let out a small sigh of relief when he saw the Angra get caught in the explosion. Unless it could move 20 meters in an instant, it wasn't getting out unscathed.

When the dust settled, Shirou was relieved to see that the Angra was nowhere in sight. Shirou stood with a groan, glad to see the the mud wave just pooling around the ground as the flames continued to flicker...

Wait...

Very quickly, Shirou thought back to the second strangest detail of _that night_. While the giant wolf-like monster was the first strangest, the second strangest was how all of the flames and mud just disappeared when the monster did. If the presence of the Angra was true, then wouldn't that mean that...

A bubbling noise was all Shirou heard, then that 'laugh' again. Shirou looked up to see the black beast, its ethereal red eyes burning themselves into his psyche once more. Then it brought its claws down and...

* * *

_The figure found itself standing around in an unfamiliar location. Or rather, it knew where it was but didn't recognise the surroundings. Since when was the floor covered in grass? Why was some of it vibrant and some of it not? And why was what little remained of the oddly disturbing white area so... shiny?_

_But beneath all of those questions was one important one. Where was the owner of this place? The boy with white hair and heterochromatic eyes. The one that helped them come to... understand? Accept? Become one would be the more correct term._

_But now it felt itself needing to go. Something was happening between the white-haired boy and their... king? Friend? Wielder would be the technical term, but it felt too impersonal. Regardless, something bad happened to Gil_** _gamesh_ **_and when they went to investigate they found themselves here once more. But no white haired boy._

_Before they could continue that train of thought, __a sudden arrival gathered their attention with a bang. Literally. As the dust wafted and eventually cleared, they found themselves looking at... Shirou? But this feeling... Could it be that-_

_"Hello there."_

_The man spoke in a deep voice, unexpectedly smooth for his size and stature. While he certainly looked like Shirou, there were differences as well. Not just in appearance and voice, but even in stature. The man seemed more casual than Shirou, but held a sense of preparation as well._

_"Where is your wielder?"_

_The man faltered, blinking at the sudden question, before letting out a huff._

_"Not even a hello? You're quite rude, aren't you?"_

_They remained silent, their green hair swaying in the wind. The man in red sighed before shifting gears, his face losing all traces of friendliness as he stared at them._

_"What are your intentions towards my partner?"_

That _got them thinking. What were their intentions? They wanted to know what happened to their **King **friend, but what happens when they do? What if they have to... fight Shirou? _

**_For his King, he would gladly kill the boy._**

_He didn't want to hurt someone that didn't deserve it._

_Huh._

_"I'm... not certain. I felt my... wielder in trouble. When I went to look for him, I found myself here."_

_The red man looked into their eyes, searching for any hint of deceit, before nodding to himself with a huff. Putting out his hand, he spoke._

_"It would be much easier to see rather than explain. Give me your hand."_

_They nodded, offering out their rather dainty hand to take the man's much rougher one. Once more the man nodded before speaking._

_"With this, we'll see where you stand, God Arc."_

_They smiled at the loyalty they felt from the fellow God Arc, before deciding to clear something up._

_"Call me Enkidu." _

* * *

A bang interrupted the process, surprising Shirou enough to jump. A man jumped down next to him, making sure to pick him up before jumping away, aiming for the ground untouched by the mud. When they landed, Shirou tried to get a good look at his saviour, but was greeted with blur and non-distinct features. Putting a hand to his head, Shirou nearly missed their outstretched hand with two pills and their words of instruction.

Clumsily, Shirou grabbed the two pills before popping them one at a time. The first helped make him feel less tired, getting rid of the blur on his vision. The second made him feel better, closing his _many _wounds and soothing the burns on his arms and back. His headache was almost entirely gone at that point, so then he looked up to see the God Eater that helped him so.

As he first thought, their appearance was quite unremarkable. If Shirou knew better, he would have described them as an average looking Oriental male, but because all Shirou knew was very un-Japanese-looking Japanese people, all that came to his mind was plain. With short black hair, olive skin, and dark brown eyes, Shirou had never seen anything plainer. Shaking his head of the rude thoughts, he gave voice to his gratitude.

"Thanks for helping me. I'd be a goner without you."

Shirou gave a bow to show how gratuitous he was, and thus missed the God Eater's reaction.

"Don't worry about it. If anything, you should be thanking the Director. He's the one that sent us out to give assistance."

"Well, that's good. Wait, we?"

Shirou stood up before turning at the God Eater's prompting. There he saw the Angra, growling as it stared to its right. It wasn't immediately clear what he was looking at, but then Shirou realized it was God Eaters. Around twenty of them, all positioned on patches of land or on buildings, each God Arc pointed towards the Angra. The sight was actually quite heroic, and he was certain Kota would love to see it. Wait a minute-

"Hey, do you have an earpiece that connects to everyone elses!?" He didn't even wait to hear them say it, continuing after they nodded. "You need to tell everyone that other God Eaters are still around here! They're all still alive, just unconscious!" The God Eater blinked before nodding, a grim expression on his face as he made to touch his communicator.

"Also warn them to avoid the mud. I'm not sure how, but I think the Angra uses the mud to travel. And tell them to only attack with Oracle attacks, otherwise they'll do nothing."

Without looking to the God Eater, Shirou split apart his God Arc back to Kanshou and Bakuya, launching himself towards the Angra. The God Eater just watched him, mouth hanging open, before shaking his head and bringing his fingers to his communicator, spreading the message.

"Everyone, listen up..."

* * *

Sakaki heard the crackle of the radio and immediately tuned in, noting that it was the God Arc Lab again. As soon as he did, he was greeted by frantic mumbling, and a keening noise in the background.

"Do you copy?"

"Ah, Doctor Sakaki! It's the God Arc again, sir! It's begun-" There was illegible shouting, and the background noise became louder, more noticeable. "The God Arc has begun to spin sir, and it's quickly picking up speed! There's Oracle being expelled from it, and-"

A scream followed, along with shouts of surprise and curses.

"What happened!? Are you okay!?"

"Y-yeah sir, it's just... the Oracle solidified into little blades and shot out of the room." Now that Sakaki called down, he could hear another background noise, one like a rain of nails. Or at least, what he imagined that would be like. "It still is actually. What are your orders Director?"

Sakaki had to take a second. The situation was becoming stranger by the second, and the 'correct choice' was becoming harder to ascertain. He took a moment to laugh to himself. What a Johannes thing to think. Shaking his head, he decided to follow his gut. He was, after all, a Stargazer.

"Continue to observe from a safe distance. I'm coming down to observe myself."

"Ah-Alright then, Director."

With a click, the conversation ended and Sakaki let out a sigh. He sat down long enough to wonder if it would be okay for him to do this instead of watching snippets of the battle taking place outside, but decided he would be of more use there than in his office

So, standing up, he made his way to see if he there was something he could do.

* * *

The battle raged on. The rooftop God Eaters loosed their Oracle Bullets, peppering the Angra and blasting up the environs. Dust was raised, mud was cleared, and the black beast was angry. It roared and swung its arms, spreading waves of mud to consume all who resist. The God Eaters dodged and the ranged battle continued.

As Oracle ran dry and ampules were injected, Shirou ran throughout the flaming battlefield, shooting the Angra when he could. Otherwise, he worked towards blocking any stray attacks that would harm the God Eaters, and took any unconscious God Eaters he could find to safety.

But he was drawn into the battle over and over, at a point abandoning his self-appointed protection duty to try and bring the Angra to a melee. It was to let the other God Eaters attack it when its guard was down, but the Angra possessed enough presence of mind to continue defending.

But eventually, the Oracle ran dry, and any Oracle supplements remaining had been used. The Oracle could not be easily recovered in this situation. While it could replenish slowly over time, it wouldn't prove enough to be worth anything on its own, and the God Eaters couldn't attack or Devour the Angra without risking critical damage.

It was a stand-off, a battle of attrition that was quickly shifting in the Angra's favour.

As more God Eaters used up their last Oracle, more of them took up Shirou's previous duty of taking the injured to a safe place. And as more God Eaters dropped out of the fight, the more Shirou was being pushed back into the centre of the melee.

It was in the middle of that melee that the scales seemed to shift, at least minorly, in Shirou's favour. He jumped, twisting out of the way of another strike. As the wave coming from the Angra's hand receded, Shirou retaliated, throwing out Bakuya. But instead of flashing out and leaving a light gash on the Angra's side as it had every other time, it impaled itself into its hand. Which it moved. Directly where he was aiming.

Then it was gone in a ripple, one that was echoed behind him.

Ah, he chastised. It seems I had become predictable.

As he felt more than saw the pressure of the Angra's claw coming down on him, he had enough propriety to wonder how he was going to walk away from this one before he saw a flash from the corner of his eyes.

Then...

* * *

**_BOOM! _**

_"__AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"_

_Archer stood by, watching as the God Arc- as Enkidu raged throughout the... well, not much of a desert anymore. More like a glade. Almost._

_"DAAAAAAAAMMN!!"_

_That's right. Enkidu. Their anger is understandable. He would find himself not doing much better if Shirou were..._

_"WHYYYYYYYYYYY!?"_

_Archer sighed; now wasn't the time to let his sympathy overwrite his sensibility. He would leave that to Shirou. Right now, he had to get Enkidu to see reason. So, with a deep breath, he reached out._

_"Enkidu."_

_Just his voice wouldn't capture the raging Arc's attention. But doing something egregious..._

**_Thunk._**

_...that always got people's attention._

_"..."_

_The wall of steel and displaced dust halted Enkidu's rage. The blades within the desert-glade-mental space had moved at Archer's command, suddenly and smoothly. In a strange way, it was reminiscent of Gilgamesh and Enkidu's own ability._

_Enkidu was halted both physically and mentally, confusion and surprise superseding their still-blazing anger. After all, how could he have done that? Didn't this place belong to Shirou, the red bowman's wielder?_

_Of course, it wasn't like Enkidu could know that Archer was intrinsically connected to this landscape in a way that no other God Arc could connect to their wielder's psyches._

_"Enkidu."_

_The green-haired God Arc glared at the red-clad God Arc, a tension starting to brew within the atmosphere. Then, with a grunting exhale, the tension dissipated and Enkidu responded._

_"God Arc."_

_"Archer."_

_A snicker left Archer as he corrected Enkidu, and even Enkidu had to laugh at that. But it passed, and they were back to business._

_"Enkidu. What do you want?"_

_A flinch was his response._

* * *

Sakaki took the elevator down to the Den before making the transfer to the other elevators. As he did, he wondered and worried, finding himself stretched thin between all of the events going on. When he entered the elevator, he shook his head. Now wasn't the time to let himself be distracted.

Stepping out of the elevator onto the Laboratory floor, he resolved himself to focus on the problem at hand. Besides, that optimistic part of himself thought, maybe this can help. Somehow.

The door to God Arc Lab 2B slid open, and within he found...

**Clangclangclangclangclangclan-!!!**

A cacophony of noise reminiscent of what he heard over the radio but so much worse in person. He was going to be feeling this tomorrow, wouldn't he?

Well, that's assuming that there'll be a tomorrow.

Shaking off the negativity, Sakaki took in the sight before him. Within the room itself are several researchers, all wearing the customary white lab coat. One, a young man, was standing near the radio placed into the wall, so he was presumably the one that called Sakaki. And within the chamber, beyond the glass, was...

Oh.

The God Arc that Shirou had been Resonating with, the one he took off of that Gilgamesh fellow, was still in the middle of the room, held by the stand. But instead of its previous inert state, the three 'rings' that made up its 'blade' were spinning, creating a barely perceptible whirring noise. As it did this, it also created the Oracle blades he had been told about, and sent them flying throughout the room.

As he witnessed this, Sakaki had the oddest impression. While he had never met a God Arc Personality personally, his fluke with Shirou's notwithstanding, and he never considered himself a good judge of emotion, something was telling him that the God Arc was... angry. He had seen the emotion enough from Johannes at times, and from Saber when she got back to base after a mission with Kiritsugu.

But this anger was deeper. More raw. Like the anger someone felt when they lose someone precious. Could it be...

Could the God Arc know its wielder was in danger? While the camera feed was inconveniently placed, Sakaki could see that something happened to the blonde man Gilgamesh. Something to do with Kirei Kotomine.

Sakaki moved to the man by the radio and spoke.

"Has anything changed with the God Arc?"

"Ah!?"

The young man jumped in fright.

"Ah- D-Director! I didn't notice you," he proclaimed while offering a small bow. Sakaki waved him off, prompting him to continue.

"But no, nothing has changed. It's just been attacking that wall this whole time. Even though it should have run out of Oracle at some point, it keeps producing those blades. I wonder, are the blades low-cost, or do they not use Oracle at all? This would be something interesting to research but we can't use the God Arc remotely... Maybe if we asked Emiya for help..."

The man continued muttering, and Sakaki, while interested in what he was saying and drawing his own conclusions on the matter, had a moment of realization as to what people meant when they said he could derail a conversation. As he went to try and get the man back on track, he stopped when he noticed something had changed.

The lab was quieter than it had been.

Turning, Sakaki saw the God Arc slow down its rate of fire before eventually stopping. As he marvelled at the sudden change, he was reminded of times he would shut Johanne up by saying something out of left field and leaving him floored. But he found himself surprised again when the God Arc began firing once more. Only, it was firing at a slower rate and seemed to stop firing haphazardly, aiming at specific spots. Actually, looking at the wall, it almost looked like it was writing some... thing...

Oh. It was.

On the wall at the far end of the test room, there was a collection of Oracle blades sticking out like candles on a cake. Only instead of representing a number, they wrote out 'Shirou Emiya' in hiragana. Which was... ominous, and not particularly trustworthy. But the God Arc had gone back to being inert, so maybe that was meant to be taken as a sign of trust?

Looking around, Sakaki found all the other technicians in the room looking flabbergasted, or just otherwise confused. Clearing his throat, he gathered the collective's attention, before deciding how to deal with this.

On one hand, it's entirely possible that the God Arc blames Shirou for the death of its wielder, and this was a death threat, so to say. Thus, bringing it to Shirou would only be adding more fuel to the fire.

On the other hand, this could be the God Arc's way of saying it wants to help. He could get it to Shirou and it could provide him another layer of fire support. And the longer he takes to decide, the more likely Shirou and his God Eaters will die.

The pessimist or the optimist?

His mind or his gut?

What's the right choice?

The Director or...

"...Well, I am a Stargazer. And a Stargazer follows their gut to try and understand the mysteries beyond their reach. So, I..."

* * *

_"What do you want?"_

_I don't know. I don't know._

_Gil is dead._

**_My King is dead._**

_I don't know._

_"I..."_

**_The boy must pay. It is because of him that my King is gone._**

_It wasn't Shirou's fault. He was just protecting his home._

_"I don't..."_

**_You would defend that Faker? You would defend he who our King loathed? I thought you were a fool for even giving him the time of day, but now I know. You never cared for our King at all!_**

_No! It's not like that! Maybe he wasn't how I remember, but he was still Gil! I'm just as angry as you, but that doesn't mean we should kill Shirou! Besides, you saw it same as I did! The one that killed him was Kirei!_

_"I don't... I just..."_

**_And we don't get to put him through the suffering he deserves! The bastard died before we even knew it! So without him, the only other person responsible for my King's state is Shirou Emiya!_**

_That's not true and you know it! Damn it, why won't you listen to me!? I don't want to kill Shirou! After all, it's because of him that I...!_

_"Gilgamesh..."_

_"Hey."_

_E **a **nkidu looked up, staring into the eyes of the man that was a dead ringer for Shirou Emiya, **that bastard. I should kill him to- **No, you can't jus-_

_"It's okay to feel angry. If I were in your shoes, I'd feel the same."_

_E **a **nkidu blinked. **As if, you don't understand what it's like at al- **I wish I was just angry, the sorrow it's too much I'mdrowninghelp-_

_"But you know it wasn't Shirou's fault."_

_E **a **nkidu clenched their fists. **Of course you'd say that, of course you're on his side, kill you I'llkillyou- **I know that, I know that, but I can't help it I'm still angry-_

_"And it wasn't your fault either."_

_And their fists loosened, their jaws opening in shock._

_"But, I... if I... if I were there, then..."_

_"Yet you know that isn't true, don't you?"_

**_Silence bastard, it's a subject's duty to always stand by their King, and I wasn't there wherewasIwherewherewhere-_**

_You're wrong, I was his friend, friends stick together, I left him by himself, it'smyfaultmyfaultmyfault-_

_"And even if it was, why aren't you doing anything about it?"_

_"...What?" _

_"You say he was your friend, or your king, or whatever, but the moment he gets himself in trouble you fold and start blaming yourself for everything? What kind of friend or even subject are you?"_

_"I'm a..." **failure **_

_"A real friend wouldn't be moping. They would be trying to get their friend out of trouble. A true loyal subject wouldn't be fretting about the king's absence, they would he preparing for their king's return."_

_A... true friend?_

**_A... loyal subject?_**

_"And even if he was gone... Then it would be your responsibility to put him to rest."_

**_Put him... to rest?_**

_"So come on! He's still there, even if only in part! If you say it's your fault for him being like this, then go out and take responsibility!"_

_Right... a true friend... always has their friend's backs!_

**_Of course... a loyal subject... shall always protect the king and his memory!_**

_"And the easiest way to take responsibility... is to go out there, help Shirou, take down that monster, and pull Gilgamesh out of there! So... are you willing to help?"_

_"I..."_

_For the sake of my friend..._

**_For the sake of my King..._**

_"I..."_

_I will help him!_

**_I will protect him!_**

**_Even if he's already gone, I won't let this travesty last!_**

_"I will. For Gilgamesh."_

_Enkidu said this without hesitation._

* * *

**Thunk!**

A blade sank into the Angra's arm. No, not just a blade. An Oracle blade. Multiple. The force from each blade pushed the arm off of its course, preventing it from encompassing Shirou in a wave of mud and allowing him to move back to make room. But looking to the direction of the Oracle blades, he could see...

A rocket?

Whatever it was, it looked vaguely large, about the size of a cardboard box. But it was being propelled by fire like the rockets he saw on some old TV shows. And it was getting closer. Fast.

Backpedaling once more, Shirou avoided the rocket, which he now saw as being longer than it was tall. Long enough to hold a body. Or a God Arc. And considering what came out of it...

The rocket-propelled locker crash-landed, the lid popping off fully to reveal Enkidu in all of its cylindrical glory. What the God Arc was doing here certainly crossed his mind, but Shirou dismissed that for what the weapon seemed to be doing. That is, spewing out Oracle blades to use against the Angra.

Which proved a useful distraction.

Pushing off the ground, Shirou made room away from the Angra, moving towards the source of the distraction. With a twist, he landed besides the God Arc and, with a flourish, planted Kanshou into the floor and took Enkidu into his hand.

* * *

_And found himself once more in his internal world. At least, he thought it was his._

_The grass was new. Well, not _new _new, but there certainly wasn't this much last he was here._

_But that wasn't important. Time was still a limiting factor here. Now, where was-_

_"Shirou Emiya."_

_...Enkidu._

_Why were they there, in the real world? While he wouldn't doubt someone's desire to help, he also knew that God Arc's weren't exactly people. As Sakaki told him when he asked about them, "God Arc Personalities seem to be derivatives of their wielder's own experiences and personality."_

_While certainly a version that had been dulled down so Shirou could properly understand, it held the core of the matter. The manifestations of the God Arcs he has met were all influenced by the people their wielders were, and the people they had met. And considering that Enkidu was wielded by Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh knew Kirei..._

_"Enkidu."_

_The green-haired figure pursed their lips, closing their eyes._

_It wasn't as if Shirou didn't have faith. The last time they met, they had left on good terms, or at least amicable ones._

_But that was before Gilgamesh was... before he became the Angra. When Shirou promised he wouldn't wield Enkidu against his friend. And Enkidu would know. Wouldn't they?_

_"Shirou, I..."_

_It seemed they were done thinking. Enkidu stared at him, both eyes sparkling. That look... it was one he had seen a lot in both the mirror and in his little-big sister's ruby orbs._

_"I'm going to help Gilgamesh."_

_...What?_

_"What?"_

_Good job._

_Enkidu's face tightened at having to repeat themselves._

_"I said, I'm going to help Gilgamesh. And helping you fight... _that_... is the best chance I have."_

_Shirou blinks._

_"So, I'll be working with you for a bit."_

_And blinks again._

* * *

Opening his eyes, Shirou saw how the God Arc lazily spun its cylinders, the stream of Oracle blades halted. Yet, awaiting the command to produce more. To forge over a thousand blades.

So, with an exertion of his will, the cylinders spun, and twenty blades had been produced. Lacking even the stinging pain that was there the previous time he held Enkidu, Shirou was able to produce the blades seamlessly.

And with a wave of the cylindrical 'blade', the thin, shining blades of Oracle flashed through the air, impacting against the hulking black beast. Its outraised arm was struck once more, throwing its aim off and causing a wave of the mud to miss him by a few inches.

Now this would be useful. But...

Casting a glance to the floor, Shirou saw Kanshou standing upright on its lonesome, the black blade looking remiss without its white partner. But duty calls. So, promising to reunite the two, Shirou hefted Bakuya over his shoulder and moved.

Fielding the Angra, Shirou beckoned for more blades to appear. And appear they did, forming a field not dissimilar to the one Shirou found himself in earlier. And with a wave, the blades shot for their target.

Of course, while the briefly pincushioned wolf-like beast was amusing to view, Shirou knew it wouldn't stick, so he set up another field while preparing to reenter the melee.

And so, another dance started. A dance that had the two on more even ground.

* * *

Sakaki watched from the roof. He had to make sure that the God Arc made it to Shirou. He had to make sure that sending the God Arc to Shirou wasn't a mistake. That following his instinct as a Stargazer wasn't a mistake.

Great, it seems his time as Director has worn down his optimism.

Regardless, he had to be sure. So, wielding the enhanced field binoculars, he watched the engagement. He stilled when Shirou held the God Arc in hand and closed his eyes, and started worrying his lips when the Angra rose its arm and Shirou held no reaction. But he calmed when Shirou opened his eyes, and from the strange God Arc came the blades made of Oracle that were being shot earlier.

With the issue settled, Sakaki calmed down and began to watch the battle as it began in earnest. Of course, it was more often a blur, with Shirou flinging himself around the battlefield, blades flying, his white God Arc flashing, and the Angra moving erratically, throwing around its claws or spearing waves of mud. Occasionally the Angra would block Shirou's blows, other times it would stand motionless as it was harmed, and at other times it disappeared to another part of the battlefield.

At the same time, Sakaki saw how the other God Eaters, the ones he had sent out to assist Shirou and the others earlier, sat on their laurels waiting for an opportunity to strike. It only took a moment for him to puzzle out that they must have been out of Oracle. And since the Angra seemed to be immune to any non-Oracle-based attacks according to the radio chatter earlier...

That left them as useless as him. Well, not necessarily. They could recover Oracle naturally, but it would be too slow to prove meaningful. And by the time they had gathered enough Oracle, the battle would be over, for better or worse. Speaking of Oracle...

"Director sir! I got the relay earpiece you asked for!"

"Thank you. Now then..."

Sliding the earpiece into place, Sakaki began to coordinate. First, to check on Shirou.

"Hibari, come in."

"Doctor Sakaki!?"

"Hibari, I need a sitrep."

"Uh- Ahem. Of course. The data shows that the initial team of God Eaters all took considerable damage, but nothing fatal. Any wounds were handled with the Restore Pills. As for the second wave, no major signs of damage. But, Oracle Points are at a minimum, and all O-Ampules have been used."

"Where is the forward team?"

"They've been brought to a safe location near the Den, away from combat but within distance of the sidelined God Eaters."

"That's good. Now, what about Shirou?"

"Shirou's vitals are steady. While he has taken some damage, he's bounced back. His Oracle on the other hand is nearing empty. It's a wonder he even still has any, considering he forgot to bring Consumables with him in the first place."

Ignoring the admonishing tone, Sakaki thought on that. Shirou was near empty on Oracle. The only way he can attack is with Oracle, and at this point he's the only one whose Oracle is actively decreasing. It's a battle of attrition, Sakaki realized, conversations between Kiritsugu and Johannes coming to mind. One Shirou was losing.

But the God Arc was an extra piece on the board; a Joker in the deck. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be draining Shirou's Oracle using its attacks. This pushes Shirou's theoretical limit even further ahead, but that doesn't change the fact that it can't stay that way forever. Even if it was drawing from its own Oracle like a self-induced Burst State, it would eventually use up that pool and draw from Shirou's own. At which point, Shirou loses.

So then, the Angra needs to be stopped before that can happen. But how? At this point, if all the damage it had already taken wasn't enough, then he couldn't see how they could manage that.

Unless they hit it with everything at once.

But would that be enough? Everyone has only a little Oracle, and Shirou can't make efficient use of both his God Arcs and the one he was borrowing simultaneously. That's not even thinking about the likelihood of the Angra just avoiding the blow by translocating through the mud.

It was times like this Sakaki wished he took his own advice. All the times he recommended Johanne to seek aid and build a rapport with people whom he could depend on, only to be rebuffed being told it was 'the Director's duty to shoulder all the burden.' What a fool he had been. Not only was he effectively useless here, but he couldn't even defer to someone that was useful here.

What was even the point of trying here if he couldn't...

**Crash!**

No. He couldn't give up here. Looking through the binoculars, he saw: The boy was still fighting. The boy with no blood relatives, with no past, with no consumables to his name or comrades to directly back him up other than the God Arcs in his hands, with every reason to give up in the face of this beast. He didn't stop. He kept moving forward. Kept fighting.

If the boy who only had a dream could keep moving forward, then why couldn't he? In the end, they were both Stargazers in their own right. He couldn't let himself be shown up now of all times.

So, with a deep breath, Sakaki cleared his mind and thought about what he could and couldn't do. He could contact all conscious God Eaters, and coordinate them as he saw fit. He could get them further supplies, but not in an affordable time-frame. He couldn't account for the Angra's strengths, weaknesses, or general battle strategy. He could contact someone who can.

Bringing his fingers up to his earpiece, he sent the signal out.

"Shirou?"

"Sakaki."

The boy didn't even falter as he fought, not bringing any attention to the fact he was talking to someone aside from his moving mouth.

"I intend to order a joint strike on the Angra using the last of everyone's Oracle. However, I don't know how to keep the Angra from any mud long enough to coordinate an attack. Do you have any ideas?"

Silence was his response for a few seconds as Shirou dashed, leapt, and flipped beyond the Angra's advances.

"I think I have an idea. You just focus on having everyone keep a bead on the Angra. I'll give the signal."

"How will I identify it?"

"I'd like to believe you'd know it when you see it, but otherwise..."

* * *

Plans officially hatched, Shirou focuses himself entirely on building up the required Oracle and distance for this. As the Angra swings and Shirou cartwheels to the side, he muses on how he managed to hold onto his Oracle for this long. It was actually sort of funny when he thought about it.

Sending a salvo of blades towards the Angra's head, making it block, Shirou made some distance backwards. God Arcs regained Oracle by doing what was essentially small-scale Devouring when hitting other Aragami and taking in their naturally abundant Oracle for themselves. But to damage the Angra, he had to use his Oracle to 'Reinforce' his blade. So, he found himself in an eternal loop of using and regaining his Oracle, with a net loss as his ultimate result.

Winding back his arm, Shirou threw Bakuya in a curving motion, once more aiming for the face. Instead of blocking, the Angra moved to another part of the mud, to his left and closer to the mudless ground. Perfect.

Now, to note, he wasn't lying when he told Sakaki he had a plan. He just didn't mention that it was a pretty stupid one. It certainly would have gotten him irate comments from his friends had they been aware of what he was doing.

Noting that Bakuya was making an arc that would near his left side, he couldn't help but smirk. Tugging on Kanshou, he set his plan into motion. Hefting his left hand this time, he brought Enkidu to bear, asking it to produce another Oracle blade. Only this time, it would extend from the top, turning the cylindrical blade into a very odd-looking drill.

Pushing his Oracle into it, he Reinforced it for the sake of more force before letting it fly on a linear path towards the Angra's chest. Of course, there's no guarantee that the Angra wouldn't just dodge again, but Shirou had come to notice that the Angra only ever blocked or dodged when the head was targeted. For anywhere else, it was more likely to just take the hit or otherwise block. And if it blocked, then the force of an attack would be mostly redirected.

And block it did. But regardless, the force behind the lobbed God Arc pushed through the Angra and moved it towards the edge of the mud. Of course, Shirou prepared for that. Pushing forward, Shirou jumped into the air. Twirling, he caught the black and white blurs coming for him in their respective hands, before landing and pushing off once more.

Leaving a crater where he left, Shirou made a beeline for the Angra. Bringing his God Arcs in front of him, he clipped them together, activating Rho Aias. Pushing Oracle into the shield, the petals extended away from the God Arc and produced a pink barrier. Almost immediately, the Seven Petals of Heaven made contact with the Angra, forcing it further back and away from the mud.

At once Shirou deactivated Rho Aias, causing the 'petals' to retract back into the God Arc. With a swift motion he unattached the two God Arcs before Reinforcing them and flicking them downwards, piercing the Angra's feet and rooting it to the ground.

Following momentum, Shirou reached for Enkidu and, when he found himself falling short, _tugged _and pulled it into his hand. Letting the God Arc's force push him away from the Angra, he reached the floor and bounded backwards making plenty of room.

Now, it was time! Pouring all of his remaining Oracle into Enkidu, he bled off most of it by producing hundreds upon hundreds, possibly thousands of Oracle blades, surrounding the Angra on three sides. With the rest of the Oracle being centered out the front of Enkidu, forming a drill even larger than the last. With the addition of Enkidu's cylinders spinning, and red Oracle coursing along the exterior, it made an impressive sight truth be told.

Now for the signal.

"I am..."

The burning of his body was a signal, one that told him he was pushing his limits. It was a familiar burn, one that he had experienced plenty of times over the last two years. As his skin further fell to the Oracle Cell Erosion, his now silver eyes flashed as he finished the signal.

"The bone of my sword!"

* * *

It was an explosion of light. Pink, blue, red, purple, yellow, and all sorts of colours filled the air. While individually they wouldn't do much, together they could shake even mountains. Of course, not all of the explosion was derived from the God Eaters with precious little Oracle to spare.

At the same instant as the God Eaters attacked, Shirou Emiya did too. He brought his Oracle blades down, piercing the Angra from almost every angle. And when the Oracle blades made contact with the Oracle bullets, it caused an explosive reaction, dealing more damage. This isn't taking into account that Enkidu itself made a good dent.

When Shirou ordered the Oracle blades downwards, he squared his shoulders, tossed Enkidu into the air, brought his right arm and leg back, then thrust his palm forward when Enkidu was perfectly positioned, sending it flying forward. As it flew, it tore the ground underneath it apart, until eventually piercing through the Angra. But not before imparting an excess of Oracle, allowing for more explosive reactions.

All in all, separated from the mud as it was, the Angra should have been destroyed. In fact, once the dust settled, the only trace of the Angra remaining was a small pool of mud, with Kanshou and Bakuya lying on top.

But the fires surrounding still raged.

* * *

Shirou breathed out.

It was over.

It was over!

Looking to his hands, he saw how they shook, and the weight of what he had done finally hit him.

He had killed the Angra.

The Angra was dead.

The monster that caused that hell was dead.

That hell would never be repeated.

It was slow, but he realized that his face hurt. Bringing up a shaking hand, he felt that his teeth were exposed and his lips were curved upwards.

Ah. He was smiling.

He didn't deserve to smile, to feel happy. He lived when no one else did, so he shouldn't. But maybe they wouldn't blame him if they saw him now.

Walking forward, he made his way to where the Angra had been and where his God Arcs were laying. He could see not far ahead Enkidu on the floor, and on the rooftops were all the other God Eaters cheering. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, it looked like some of the God Eaters in the forward group had woken up.

As he reached his God Arcs, he went to pick them up before freezing.

Something wasn't right. Something wasn't right, something wasn't right, something wasn't right something wasn't right somethingwasn'tright somethingwasn'trightsomethingwasn'tright.

It was still blistering hot.

Looking down into the mud, Shirou saw how the mud rippled and shifted. He saw how it was moving somewhere behind. He saw how it moved like it was alive.

He felt it behind him.

Don't look, don't look, it'll pass by if you don't look, just ignore it, it's not real it can't be real please don't let it be real nononono.

Of course, he didn't listen to himself. So, turning, he saw it, over his shoulder, standing there, still there-

A pitch-black snout, attached to jagged teeth and a wolf-like head. As flames spread over its head, Shirou found himself drawn to its red, red eyes, deeper and deeper, infinitely deep and dragging him in endlessly like an abysss staring into an abyss but the abyss is staring back and it won't let go please let go let me be I don't want to be here I thought I was done no-

Shirou only had a moment to scream, to try and alert the others, to call Kanshou and Bakuya, to try and orient himself to dodge, or block, or anything.

But it wasn't enough, and the last thing he saw was its jaw curling up as if in a smirk before consuming him in a wave of deep, deep black, leaving the impression of red eyes deep into his consciousness.

* * *

_Black, black, as far as he can see. There isn't any difference between eyes open and eyes closed. It all flows through him like handfuls of sand._

_Sometimes he feels something brushing across his hands, like someone was trying to take his hands. Or he was trying to take theirs. He wasn't really sure. He didn't know if he was moving. Maybe he was, and he kept bumping into something. Or maybe he was stationary, and things kept bumping into him._

_Maybe he was actually in a river. That sounded sort of funny. It wasn't that he was moving, but he _was _moving at the same time. He was bumping into things and things were bumping into him. But it wasn't a river. It couldn't be. After all, it wasn't wet or cold._

_It was actually quite hot. It was _blistering_._

_A crack. There was a crack in the black. He had to reach that crack. He had to. He tried to move his arms, but he couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel anything but the heat._

_But he still had to try._

_He bucked his arms, he jerked his body, he threw himself however he could. It didn't feel like he got any closer, but the cracks got bigger. They spread further and further, and as they did, as their light spread further and further, he could feel things fall into place._

_He remembered he was fighting something. He remembered he needed to protect something. He remembered there was something waiting for him. He remembered he couldn't keep laying down here._

_He remembered Kota Fujiki. He remembered Paylor Sakaki._ _He remembered Taiga Fujimura._

_He remembered Rin Tohsaka. He remembered Saber. He remembered Sakura Matou. He remembered Illyasviel von Einsbern._

_He remembered Archer. He remembered Unlimited Blade Works._

_He kept struggling, fighting against his non-existence. He made more cracks, shed more light._

_He remembered fighting Gilgamesh. He remembered talking to Kotomine._

_He remembered fighting Jubstacheit von Einsbern. He remembered failing to save Berserker._

_He remembered killing Zouken Matou. He remembered killing Shinji Matou._

_He remembered his first fight against an Aragami. He remembered being impaled._

_He remembered saving Illya. He remembered saving Sakura. He remembered saving Kota's mother._

_He remembered Kiritsugu Emiya. He remembered being saved by Kiritsugu._

_He remembered walking through fire. Walking past the corpses of others, even the ones that still contained life. He remembered ignoring their pleas for help, focused on maintaining his own survival. He remembered giving up his self for the sake of taking one more step._

_He remembered the black beast. The one that he was fighting._

_Then he remembered one more thing. A star-lit night. Sitting next to Kiritsugu. Being told his old dream. And making a promise._

_"I said I'll become a Hero of Justice in your place."_

_Ah. That's right._

_That scene was... the first time he felt like he could understand Kiritsugu's smile that day. It was the first step he had taken to being closer to his father._

_Through the cracks in the black there was a flash of neon-green light. Something flew through the cracks, landing by his sides. It only took a glance for him to recognize them. How could he forget his own partner?_

_He reached out for his Unlimited Blade Works, for Kanshou and Bakuya, their black and white blades juxtaposing each other and the world around him. He drew the blades from the ground, their lengths extended by green Oracle blades._

_"My name is..."_

_And with a mighty roar, the boy swung the blades in his hands, shattering the black abyss around him and freeing the bright sky above._

_"Shirou Emiya!"_

* * *

_He was staring up at a bright blue sky, without any clouds obscuring his view. At the corners of his vision, he sees massive gears hanging in the sky. But they were partially rusted, and hanging near to the ground._ _B__eyond them was a bright light, the source of this place's colour._

_As his feet moved, he felt how the green grass rubbed against the legs of his pants. Looking down, he saw how a grassy meadow spread before him, coexisting with sandy shoals that held clear water. But instead of being stagnant, every pool was connected, causing the water to flow from one to another. And within each was placed a God Arc, as polished as the day they were made._

_Of course, far in the distance, Shirou could see how there were entire parts of the environment that were held in monochrome. Pure white sand, under pure white water, surrounded by pure white grass and pierced by pure white blades. But they were just that. In the distance. Part of him knew, the monotone of Erosion would never reach where he was until the day he died. _

_Speaking of, he looked immediately around him. He saw the hill, so familiar and yet so different. Instead of sand, it was covered entirely in grass. As usual, his Unlimited Blade Works were planted blade first into the hill, leaning against each other. And lying against it was..._

_"It's good to see you up and at 'em, Shirou."_

_Smiling, he lowered himself to the ground and leaned against the God Arcs in kind._

_"It's good to be up and at 'em. I was worried I wouldn't wake up."_

_He said it jokingly, but they both knew he meant it. A silence ensued before Archer followed it up._

_"I was also worried. When you were consumed by the mud... I couldn't find you anywhere. I was cut off from your senses, and couldn't see you anywhere in here."_

_"I... was in the dark. I forgot everything. But... I remembered. That I had saved people. That I had lost people. That I made a promise that means everything to me. That I made friends, _family _that mean just as much."_

_Archer began to stand, the grass underneath him shifting._

_"Do you still want to be a Hero of Justice?"_

_Shirou looked out into the horizon, a beautiful array of blue, green, yellow, and white before him. With a deep breath, he answers._

_"Of course. It's the reason I chose for surviving the Fire. It's what I've decided to do to pay back the unpayable debts I owe."_

_"But to save someone, you must forsake another. To protect your friends, you might have to forsake a stranger. And to save a stranger, you might have to forsake a friend. You are aware of that, aren't you? Doesn't that go against your desire to save everyone?"_

_The bronze gears in the sky began to change a bit. Some rusted further, falling closer to the ground below, while others shed their rust and rose to the sky above._

_"Yeah, I know. It's impossible, isn't it? I can't save anyone if it means sacrificing my friends, and I can't save my friends if it means sacrificing anyone else. An impossible circumstance. It's hypocritical too. Wanting to save someone means wanting someone to be in trouble."_

_The rusted gears hit the ground, causing small plumes of dust, while the rising gears reached their apex and began to turn, becoming another part of this beautiful tapestry of his soul._

_"But that's fine. It's okay if it's impossible, and it's okay if it's hypocritical. What matters is that I try. As long as I strive for that beautiful ideal, no matter how far away, I know that I won't lose my way. And if I have my family by my side, I won't have to worry at all. They'll keep me on the straight and narrow."_

_Standing up, Shirou stretched his arms and legs, brushing off any stray grass on his rear._

_"So you won't turn back, no matter what? Regardless of the hypocrisy, regardless of the impossibility, you'll walk that road to the very end? Or will you abandon that dream, and walk with your family on a happier path?"_

_Turning, Shirou stared at him before smiling lightly._

_"I don't know yet. I'll walk the path of a Hero of Justice, and I'll walk by my family's sides. And if one day, those two paths find each other at a crossroads, I know the path I'll follow will be one without regrets."_

_Archer stared at him before letting out a sigh, rubbing his brow and letting his hair sit on his face._ _At this point, ignoring the clothes, the two looked exactly the same._

_"Hah. I guess I really can't change your mind. But, you're right. As you are now, you'll walk down a path that you won't regret. One unaware of loss or gain."_

_"Ha. I see my appreciation for poetry got you too."_

_"Oh, shut it."_

_Another silence, this one much more relaxed than the previous. This time, Shirou broke it._

_"Well, guess I better get going."_

_"Yeah. I'll have your back, like always."_

_A flash and then silence. Shirou was gone and Archer found himself alone on the hill. Looking out at the horizon, he couldn't help but breathe out a single word._

_"Beautiful." _

* * *

The first thing he felt was everything burning. It was so damn hot. His skin was aching, his wounds were stabbing, and every movement was pure agony.

But there was something more important to do than wallow in pain, so he pushed past that. Pushing himself upwards with his arms, he felt as he started to slide upwards through something before eventually feeling the cool, crisp air.

Rubbing his hands off on his clogged down pants, he scrubbed away any left over residue on his eyes before opening them.

It wasn't much different compared to when he last checked. There was more mud everywhere, and even more fire and smoke. The sky was almost completely obscured, and any part that wasn't shone through orange. It was noon? How long had they been fighting?

Actually, where were the God Eaters? Where was the Angra?

Trying to focus his sight, Shirou looked to where the God Eaters last were and found what he expected and dreaded. From where he was, the building had also been covered in mud. Looking around, Shirou didn't find any sign of the Angra.

He should go look for the Angra. More people could be in danger if he didn't do something. But he couldn't just abandon the chance that other people survived the mud.

Shaking his head at his indecisiveness, he chose to check the building. Taking a running start, he leapt upwards and landed on the surprisingly sturdy tin roof. The first thing that drew his attention was all of the unconscious God Eaters on the roof. The second thing that grabbed his attention was the lack of mud on the roof. As if someone had blocked it.

Taking a closer look, Shirou noticed that these were some of the God Eaters that came in the second wave. But Saber and Rin and the others weren't here. Where were they?

It hadn't reached his ears until now, but he noticed the sound of Oracle discharges in the distance. There was also the sound of rippling, like a wave, and the occasional shout. That must be them!

Turning, he took a step in the direction of the sounds before pausing. He said he would beat the Angra, but how? He couldn't kill the thing when it was attached to the mud and he fought at full power, and he couldn't kill the thing when it was away from the mud with the combined dregs of everyone's power.

So then how? There wasn't an answer.

Looking down, Shirou's eyes caught on something strange. The mud on the floor seemed to be... moving away. Moving towards the edge of the roof, he looked down at the mud on the wall and he was right. It was moving. Slowly, but he could see how it rolled down the wall, lazily dripping downwards.

But why? Could there be a limit to the Angra's range? Is that why it was moving back? Or does it have a mud limit? That one seemed less likely seeing as its appearance hadn't changed when it released the mud. But the first one could make sense. Back when the Fire occurred, only a set area of the Outer Ghetto had been damaged. If not for a range limit, then why wouldn't it have caused more destruction?

But, that still doesn't answer the main question here? How can he win?

He couldn't puzzle out anything else at this point. The Oracle exhaustion was getting to him, buzzing his mind and darkening the edges of his vision. By himself, he couldn't do anything to fix the situation.

But he isn't by himself.

Reaching for his ear, he felt for the earpiece he was given before realizing it had been knocked out in the mud. Sighing, he knelt near one if the unconscious God Eaters, the plain one from earlier. Reaching for his ear, Shirou took out the man's earpiece and activated it.

"Professor?"

* * *

Sakaki's heart was beating something fierce. It was actually almost painful. But even that pain would be preferential to what he's seeing now.

When the Angra appeared behind Shirou, he tried to send out a message. Shirou was immediately caught in the wave, but some of the other God Eaters saw what was happening and prepared their shields.

While they successfully rebuffed the wave, it didn't prevent some God Eaters from falling unconscious. Whether due to the stress of the last hour, or due to the strength of the sudden attack, the remaining attack power was effectively quartered. To seemingly balance that out, some of the previously unconscious God Eaters had awoken.

While they had missed out on the entire middle of the engagement, they quickly picked up on the whole Angra issue and the gravitas of the situation. When Rin had asked about Shirou, Sakaki didn't have the heart to say that Shirou was... that he had been consumed by the mud. So he lied and said that Shirou had fallen unconscious in a safe place. He could tell his answer was met with suspicion, but he couldn't tell them. Not yet, at least.

So, the group attacked the Angra, and drove it away from the unconscious God Eaters. And once more, they fell into a battle of attrition with the God Eaters being on the back foot.

This is where Sakaki was at when he received a message that almost made him collapse in relief.

"Professor."

"S-Shirou?"

It couldn't be. He was dead. He watched him get swallowed by the mud. No one survived something like that, last time.

Except for Kotomine.

"Hey Professor. I know the last plan didn't exactly pan out, but right now I need your help making a new plan."

His mind was abuzz, he was going to get a cracked neck bone from the whiplash. Well, not literally, but regardless, he was feeling very chuffed. But, he can't let it get to him. If he isn't going crazy, then he has to keep doing his duty as Director.

"Understood. Do you have any new information?"

"I think... the Angra has a range limit, or something like that. The mud nearby is moving back towards the Angra. While that isn't a lot, it does explain why the Great Fire was contained... I think."

Sakaki stewed on that. It would explain the relatively short range of the Fire. But that doesn't much clear up any other mysteries. Such as where the Angra and the mud went, or even why it disappeared in the first place. It just disappeared according to eye witness accounts, without any external forces.

"If there's a range limit, then that helps in keeping it contained. The others drew the Angra further away from where the people were evacuated."

"That's good. But how can we kill it?"

There's the problem. Let's try and think this through. The Angra is made of mud. It can produce a near infinite amount of mud. There is a range for how much mud it can produce. Therefore, there is a theoretical limit on the amount of mud.

The Angra can survive its presumed main body being destroyed, even when separated from the mud. Although, this may be due to the mud where the Angra had been connecting with the rest of the mud.

It only takes damage from Oracle based attacks.

Really, the only idea Sakaki could come up with would be to destroy all of the mud. But how could they do that? A high concentration of Oracle spread out over all of it? But nobody here has enough Oracle to spare.

"Hey, Professor? Any ideas?"

Shirou was starting to sound worse and worse. Shaking off the worry, he decides to share his thoughts.

"If we can't kill the Angra with brute force, then we might need to somehow destroy all of the mud simultaneously. But I don't see any feasible way to do that."

His response was silence, yet for some reason he found it oddly worrisome.

"Shirou?"

"Hm? Sorry Professor, I was thinking about what you said. If we destroy all of the mud at once, then the Angra will die?"

"Well... theoretically. As far as we're aware, the Angra isn't a normal Aragami. It doesn't seem to have a core for one, so it needs to propagate itself through other means. The most likely explanation is that the mud itself is the core."

"Hmm. I think I might have an idea."

Sakaki did not like the sound of that.

"What's your plan?"

"Oh, you know. Just going to use Oracle to destroy all the mud."

"And pray tell, how?"

"I'll just use everyone's God Arcs to destroy swathes of the mud by pumping them with my Oracle."

...What?

"Pardon?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said!" Sakaki took a deep, calming breath. "You are aware, of course, that by trying to Resonate with anyone else's God Arc, let alone multiple God Arcs, will likely kill you in your current state? That's not accounting for how you intend to use the Oracle - which, might I add, you no longer have more of - on such a large scale! How would you destroy all of that mud with at most twenty God Arcs!? You only have two hands, and we haven't tested the limits of your own telekinetic ability with Resonated God Ar-"

"I know."

It was his tone of voice. Sakaki couldn't continue his justified tirade in the face of that voice. It was horrifyingly familiar, like a twisted reflection of _his _voice.

It was tired and resigned, yet light and hopeful all at once. He knew that it would probably kill him, but he was willing to try regardless. But, he didn't intend to die. He intended to come back. It wasn't exactly a disregard for his own life. He held it lower than he held most others, but he still held his own life in esteem.

It was just like Kiritsugu. Just like every time Kiritsugu intended to go out to deal with humans rather than Aragami. Only, even Kiritsugu's voice never held as much hope as Shirou's did. An unshakeable faith in his future.

He let out a shaky breath.

"Alright. Alright. I trust you, Shirou."

"That's good. I'll make sure you're not putting your belief in the wrong place. See you soon."

The frequency shut off, and Sakaki couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Honestly. Like father, like son."

* * *

Okay. Okay. I have a plan. Now how to go about it? So Shirou thought to himself.

"Well, first I should find Enkidu. Neither of us have any spare Oracle, but something is better than nothing."

Taking a step, he stumbled a bit, the edges of his vision blurring. Clicking his tongue, Shirou forced himself upright.

"Looks like I only have so much time. Have to move fast."

Reaching out with his senses, he felt for Enkidu. The connection was weakening, but he felt it beneath him in the building.

"Course it can't be easy."

Moving to the opposite side of the building to where he jumped up, he stepped off and landing in a crouch. Standing, and trying not to stumble, he moved towards the closest available entrance: a window.

Muttering an apology to the home-owner, Shirou tugged on his connection to Enkidu and pulled it out of the house on a linear path through the window. Avoiding the shattered glass, Shirou grabbed Enkidu and felt for any Oracle. Finding none, Shirou closed his eyes.

_And opened them to a bright sky. Looking about, he saw the green-haired God Arc looking about in surprise, crouched near a shoal holding a replica of the original Enkidu as Shirou saw from their memories. Shirou took a step towards them and Enkidu turned their head at the sound._

_Standing, Enkidu faced Shirou and assumed a grumpy look, eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed._

_"Shirou Emiya."_

_"Uh... hey, Enkidu."_

_Shirou scratched his face. He wasn't sure what he did to upset Enkidu, but he's spent enough time with Rin to know he should just stay quiet._

_The silence lingered a few seconds before Enkidu's patience seemed to break._

_"What were you thinking!? Why did you throw me like that!? Did you think before using all of your Oracle to make those blades!? I could barely keep up with everything you were giving me! What would you have done if I couldn't produce everything you needed, huh!?"_

_Shirou looked away, still scratching his cheek and ignoring the sweat that rolled down his face. Eventually, Enkidu's tirade ended, and they were left taking a deep breath._

_"So. How did it go. Did you...?"_

_Shirou understood their reluctance._

_"No. I wasn't able to beat it. But I do have another plan. So, I'd like another hand if you're willing."_

_Enkidu narrowed their eyes again before shrugging._

_"I'll help you. I still have something to do after all."_

_"Alright. Do you have any Oracle left?"_

_They furrowed their brows before answering._

_"A little. Enough to produce maybe twenty blades."_

_Shirou nodded, before giving it some thought._

_That's another twenty Oracle weapons, but that doesn't mean he can destroy all of the mud. That's even assuming he can convince the other God Arcs to help him._

_"Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Looking to Enkidu, he offered a small bow. "Good to be working with you again."_

_Enkidu rose a brow at the gesture, before giving a small smile._

_"Same. See you later, Shirou."_

_Closing his eyes, Shirou saw a bright light filtering through his eyelids._

When he opened his eyes, the darkness was almost all-consuming. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he looked at Enkidu in his hands before clenching his fist. Jumping up, Shirou reached the roof and stared at the twenty-something God Arcs littered on the roof.

"Well then. Time to get to work."

He knelt by a Long Blade God Arc, yellow with a Blaster Cannon and a regular Shield. Taking it in hand, he ignores the slight burning he felt coming from the God Arc and closed his eyes.

* * *

From there, Shirou picked up God Arc, after God Arc, after God Arc, some argumentative, some simply accepting of his requests. Their appearances ranged from unfamiliar to eerily familiar, sometimes looking like no one Shirou's ever seen, other times looking like an alternative take of the God Eaters themselves.

Unlike a Prototype God Arc, or even false Prototypes like Unlimited Blade Works and Enkidu, the God Arc Personalities didn't give Shirou a peek into the God Eater's past memories. But the effect was the same. They gave Shirou a rudimentary understanding of how they fight and use their God Arcs, and let Shirou use their God Arcs himself.

Unfortunately, the whole process had the effect of draining Shirou even drier of Oracle, practically going into the negatives. This reflected in how the lines of Oracle tracing up his arms began to sour, turning a sickly yellow near his wrists rather than their usual neon green. The skin near his wrists started to burn hotter too, the tan skin starting to go a darker brown. It didn't help that it also felt like his internal organs, his tongue, his hearts, his lungs, they all felt like they were being torn apart.

The headache and the blurriness were just icing on the cake at that point. He could barely tell back from forward at this point, and if not for the connections to the God Arcs he felt, he probably would have fallen off of the roof already.

Sighing as he let go of the last God Arc, a black and blue Charge Spear, Shirou looked towards where the sounds of combat continued. He knew he had to get moving now, but first he needed to see if his initial idea would actually work. Tugging on his connection to a black and green Short Blade, a Rune Edge: Hagalaz, he pulled it towards him and grabbed it.

Nodding at it, he poured as much Oracle as he dared into it - _Oh, that burns_ \- , drawing out some of its own Oracle as well, before throwing it towards the mud on the ground. It stuck right through the mud and impaled itself into the floor. As for the mud-

_Sizzle~ _

The mud immediately touching the God Arc immediately melted away, but it wasn't a lot. Maybe only five centimetres in diameter. Shirou sighed. It wasn't a lot to work with. Just concentrated, it only destroyed a small amount. If only it could be less concentra-

Wait. Opening his palm, Shirou tried to visualise his connection to the Short Blade, and the Oracle he left within. Once he had it metaphorically cocooned in the palm of his hand, he clenched his fist and dispelled the structure of the Oracle; releasing all of it in a burst. The effects could be immediately seen in real life in the form of an explosion.

**Boom!**

Mud and dust was displaced, but the important part was that the God Arc remained in the ground, and an almost ten metre wide circle of mud was cleared. It became even better when the mud at the edge of the blast started to degrade in kind.

This was incredibly useful. Even with his vision making the blast almost debilitating, Shirou smiled at the success of his idea. Now, he knew what he could do.

But first he should probably deal with the mud on the building. And the first step to that is getting the God Eaters off of the building.

* * *

This fight sucked. This fight _sucked_. Nothing can ever describe how thoroughly this fight _sucked_.

Kota Fujiki, Captain of the First Unit, could not find _anywhere _in his memories dealing with something that sucked as much as this. Dealing with the Dyaus Pita didn't suck this much. At least with that thing progress was _obvious_. But here, this thing wasn't giving an _inch_. While he knew he caused damage, it was also like nothing happened at the same time.

Dodging another wave attack, Kota used another O-Ampule, restoring his OP Stock, before firing once more at the Angra.

They had all been fighting for what felt like hours, although that was probably the battle adrenaline talking. As Kota watched Saber and Jun attack the Angra from three different angles, he, Rin, Gina, and Karel prepared to provide covering fire. When the Angra rose its arm, the four gunners aimed for its head, causing it to block and letting the melee attacks strike.

Of course, as had been shown time and time again, only Saber's attack dealt any damage. Jun's God Arcs slid right through it, causing him to lose their balance. He caught himself, mainly because he had been expecting it, and then the two jumped away and the encounter reverted to how it started.

This fight **_sucked_**.

And then there was an explosion.

**Boom!**

"What!?"

He didn't know who said that. The explosion was off in the distance, but not far enough away that they couldn't collectively see the dust from the explosion. Kota felt a hint of dread, because-

"Isn't that where everyone else was?"

It was Rin who said that, and Kota gulped because she was right, that was where everyone was, and they need to go-

Their earpieces crackled.

"Everyone, don't worry."

"Professor Sakaki!?"

"Yes, Gina. It's me."

"What was with that explosion, Doc!? Is everyone alright!?"

"Don't worry Jun. Everybody is alright."

"While that is good to hear, Director, that does not tell us what the explosion was!"

Kota was invested in this conversation as much as the next guy, but there were partially more pressing problems right now. Such as the fact that-

"Guys, the Angra's attacking again!"

It brought it's arm up slowly, before slowly lowering it. Instead of producing a wave of mud it disappeared.

"Wh-"

"Kota!"

The Angra appeared behind the Captain, bringing its claws down low. Kota started to push off the floor, preparing to roll away with the attack. Before the claw hit him-

**Boom!**

Another explosion rocked the area, this one greater in intensity. So great, in fact, that it caused Kota's roll to turn into a stumble, causing him to hit the floor. Closing his eyes, he waited for an explosion of pain across his back. Instead he just hit the floor with a squawk, and aside from the vague burning he felt on his skin, it didn't hurt at all.

Not waiting for the chance, Kota pushed himself up, rolling and then jumping away to make room. Landing, he rubbed the mud off of his face, taking special care to keep it out of his eyes and nose. Too bad about his mouth though.

Spitting out the mud and grimacing at the taste, which was like anti-taste? It tasted so sweet it looped around to being sour, but it was also savoury and salty. Shaking his head, he looked up to see that the Angra had... paused?

Blinking, he saw how the Angra jerked, and then began moving normally. It was strange but he didn't have time to be distracted, he had to mo-

**Boom!**

Another explosion!?

It was even closer than the last, and the effect was more pronounced to boot. The shaking was worse, with Kota needing to brace himself so he didn't fall over. But what was interesting was the Angra.

It had stopped moving. The Angra had paused, as if it focused on a stray thought. But no, it was frozen and it wasn't moving. Now was the time!

"Everyone! Focus your attacks!"

That seemed to snap everyone out of their shock. Moving like a well-oiled machine, Karel and Gina primed their God Arcs for firing while Saber, Jun, and Rin rushed towards it.

Kota, Karel, and Gina pulled the triggers, firing at its arms and torso, while Rin and Jun swung towards its legs, impaling it to the floor. Saber went for the head, Excalibur glowing with the golden light of victory. With a swift slash, she struck down the black beast, severing its monstrous head from its shoulders.

As the black head fell, the six God Eaters all relaxed. When it hit the floor and started to disintegrate, Jun brought his arms up in victory, whooping with joy.

"Yeah! We did it!"

With that, the others truly started calming down, letting their arms go slack and letting their God Arcs lay in a resting position.

**Boom!**

Another explosion, this one even closer. The calm that was starting to suffuse them was blown away in the face of the problem that Sakaki insists wasn't a problem. Bringing their God Arcs back to bear, Kota reached for his earpiece to talk to Sakaki.

"Hey, Doctor Sakaki?"

"Yes, Kota?"

"What did you mean when you said we didn't have to worry about the explosions?They seem pretty concerning to me."

"Ah yes. That's right. Well, you see- Behind you Kota!"

He leapt before he looked. Dashing forward, Kota turned to look behind him, only to see something that froze his gut.

The Angra's head was regrowing. Slowly, the mud that was apparently making up its body climbed upwards and made a mold of its previous wolf head. Then, with an ominous slowness, the mold opened what would be its mouth, slowly revealing its insides, before bringing its jaws crashing closed and revealing a newly formed set of teeth.

Then the eyes reformed, starting as a dull glow before they burst aflame in a soul-wrenching red.

Kota could only watch the whole display in horror. Then, with the same deliberate slowness, the Angra opened its jaw again before giving a roar that Kota felt in his bones. And before he could even react.

**Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.**

A God Arc sunk into the ground between the God Eaters and the Angra. Actually, it wasn't just one. There were multiple God Arcs all leading from the open road to where they were. And to accompany them was the sound of footsteps.

**Boom!**

The furthermost God Arc seemed to explode, destroying a swathe of the mud. The Angra seized motion, and the God Eaters took this to realize that they should get away from the Angra and the potentially explosive God Arcs.

**Boom!**

Another explosion, more mud gone. Everyone's earpiece crackled, preceding Sakaki continuing the previous discussion.

"That's something he didn't get from his father..."

"What?"

**Boom!**

"I didn't answer your earlier question, did I? Well, the reason why you don't have to worry about the explosions is simple."

The sound of footsteps became louder, and in the distance a figure slowly became visible. The silhouette was familiar, but Kota couldn't immediately place it. Sakaki's next words had him raising a brow.

"He's a friend."

The figure stepped into observable range, and Kota blinked. It was someone he had come to think of as a friend over the years, someone he owed for helping his mom. But he looked different from usual. The shred of red hair had gone white, the strips of pale flesh had tanned, and his golden eye turned silver. If it were just that then Kota wouldn't feel so surprised.

It was the fact that his arms had turned darker, looking like overcooked beef jerky, and the green lines of Oracle that sometimes ran up his arms had started turning yellow.

Yet despite that, it was without a doubt Shirou Emiya. His smug smirk, while not a common feature, wasn't unfamiliar. And, bringing his arm upwards, he snapped his fingers.

**Boom!**

The final God Arc let off an explosion, blasting the Angra away and destroying one more swathe of mud.

"I'm back."

* * *

"That smarts."

Shirou whispered that beneath his breath. The burning in his wrists had reached further up his arms and had intensified in scope. It took a lot out of him to do what he did, acting like there wasn't anything wrong.

Shaking away the thoughts, Shirou reached his hands outwards, feeling through his connections for some of the other God Arcs. What came to greet him was a Long Blade, Railblade II; a Buster Blade, Sharkblade; a Charge Spear, Freak Opal; and a Variant Scythe, Wengyang Scythe.

They all flew towards him, before he let the connection fade so they landed in the ground nearby.

Everyone seemed pretty surprised, gawking and everything. Shirou allowed himself a chuckle before focusing on the situation at hand. He could hardly hear at that point, so he chose to forestall any questions by plainly laying out the situation.

"Keep your eyes up. This isn't over yet."

He could see it, how the Angra was slowly stitching itself back together. While the blacks and browns of the environment were blending together, Shirou could easily see the Angra's pure red eyes.

"We win when we destroy all the mud. Talk to Professor for more info."

He wasn't sure if he would be able to move as he needs to, but he would push past it regardless. Stretching out his legs, he took a step forward before running towards the Angra. Pulling on his connections, he drew the God Arcs towards himself.

As soon as he had one in his hands, he threw it away, manipulating it to seek and destroy the mud near the outside of the current 'arena'. He continued this with the other two until he only had the Variant Scythe left. Variant Scythe in hand, he jumped upwards and brought the scythe down on the Angra in a spin, piercing into its arms. Twisting and pulling the handle, the Variant Scythe extended in length, pushing Shirou away from the Angra. Raising the now ten-metre-long scythe, he swung it at the Angra, cutting through its middle once, twice, thrice, and then bringing the scythe back to its original size. Pulling his arms behind him, he threw the Variant Scythe like a boomerang, letting it pierce through the Angra's side.

Opening his palm, he focused on the Oracle within each God Arc before crushing all four collections at once, causing four explosions.

As he took a deep breath, ignoring how everything inside of him felt like it was burning, he vaguely heard yelling, and saw a flash of golden light. Shirou huffs. Looks like they're finally getting serious. Tugging on more of the earlier God Arcs, he repeated his earlier actions.

A Boost Hammer, three Short Blades, four Buster Blades, five Long Blades, two Charge Spears, and a Variant Scythe. He grabbed and threw each one, destroying the mud systematically, while occasionally throwing some the Angra's way.

A Merkava Destroyer, a Rune Edge: Haglaz, an Iron Maiden, a Chevalier, a Destro-Panther, a Tsumugari, a Kusanagi, a Serpent Warblade, a Railblade, a Tempest Chainsaw, a Glacier Katana, a Sturmberg, an Animato, a Crystal Pike, a Lohenfang, and a Lucifero. They all pass through his hands, each one imprinting their will into his soul. Explosion after explosion after explosion. The pain intensifies, his body being scorched from the inside out.

"...ou..."

He could hear something. He brought his vision away from the Angra, and when had everything gone so dark?

"Sh...ou...!"

He felt something on him. Something coating his back, and most of him actually. There was the feeling of something sinking into him and...

"...rou!"

Ah, that's right. He was covered in mud from earlier. Of course the Angra could manipulate the mud remotely. It just didn't see the need to earlier.

With the strength he had gathered in his legs fading, Shirou fell to his knees. Coughing, Shirou found that his mouth tasted like blood. Looking back towards the Angra, he saw that its stance had changed.

"Sh..rou!"

It held its arms outwards, palms face up. Its knees were bent and it was looking skyward. Then, slowly at first, the remaining mud nearby was drawn towards the Angra. It quickly built up into a swirling cocoon, writhing and roiling, and Shirou thought for a moment that maybe it wouldn't get worse.

Obviously he was wrong.

The swirling cocoon started to swell outwards, the top of the cocoon cracking open to reveal the Angra. Except it wasn't just the Angra. From the insides that Shirou could barely see, there seemed to be another Angra. And another.

A whole army of them.

He couldn't let that happen. If one could bring about the tragedy he was born in, then what could ten do? A hundred? Nothing but devastation. Nothing but **death**.

Stand up.

Stand up!

"Shirou!"

Someone's calling for him. He has to stand up. If the Angra finishes whatever its doing, then the person calling for him will be hurt. He has to stand up. He has to protect them. He has to save him.

He'll accept no less.

Shirou's vision reached a perfect clarity. In his perception, everything had slowed to a crawl. He could see everything, as if the sun was shining directly on them. Surrounding him were his comrades. Jun, Gina, and Karel. But some of his family too. Rin, Kota, and Saber. They were right next to him, reaching out.

All of them were looking at the Angra with wide eyes. Shirou could practically smell the fear on them. With a breath, he pushed off of the floor and reached out. He called all twenty-two God Arcs towards him, intending to finish this.

He felt every connection, and called to them all. But there was one connection that was stronger than the rest. One God Arc that moved faster than any other. His one and only partner.

As they curved to land in Shirou's palms, as time resumed regular motion, as all the pain and damage came back to haunt him, Shirou planned out the next few seconds.

He can manipulate any God Arcs he has Resonated recently with, pulling them towards him in a linear fashion. But, he has to be touching them to let them move in a straight line away from him. From there, he can also change their direction, but only so it can move in a straight line.

The only exception to this rule are the black and white blades in his hands. Even without touching them, they can curve to blindside their targets. So, Shirou had to manually touch every other God Arc to make them target the Angra. And he couldn't only use two or three God Arcs. The potential of a splatter was too high. It had to be all or nothing.

But Shirou only had two hands. At most, he could only hold two God Arcs at any given time. Even if he were to try and touch them in passing or touch multiple at once with a larger part of his body, he was more likely to either miss entirely due to his quickly degrading reflexes or risk destroying his body even more. Not that that's a major problem, but he needed his body to still function so he could touch the other God Arcs.

That's why he has Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands. If his body couldn't handle the stress of hitting a fast-moving God Arc...

**Clang!**

Then a God Arc could!

As the other God Arcs came towards Shirou, he turned on his heel, swinging down Bakuya and deflecting one of them. As it spun in the air, thoroughly rebuffed by its temporary wielder, Shirou reached through the 'direct' connection he made with it via his God Arc, filling it with Oracle he didn't have and manipulating it to fire at the cocoon.

This continued. He struck all nineteen God Arcs coming his way, redirecting all of them to surround the cocoon. Then all at once, he brought them down onto the cocoon. As every weapon pierced into it, being surrounded by the misshapen Angras, Shirou destabilized the Oracle within them.

Twenty explosions went off all at once, and the sound was deafening. But Shirou's work wasn't finished yet. Tugging on the last God Arc he didn't call for earlier, Shirou reversed his grip on Kanshou, and waited for Enkidu to appear before hitting it with the part of Kanshou's grip that went beyond Shirou's hand.

Flipping through the air, Shirou called for Enkidu to produce Oracle blades. Directing them, he shot them towards the droplets of mud that had escaped the explosion. Only needing ten, he disrupted their structure to cause miniature explosions.

With that done-

"Emiya!"

He heard it loud and clear that time. He knew who was speaking, and he already knew what it was about. The mud left on his body was effectively ash, having been purified by the high quantities of Oracle Cells eroding his insides and outsides. But the mud left on Kota was still there, and the Angra was still there in part.

The Angra, at this point only a blob of mud rather than a defined form, pushed forward a tendril, and the mud on Kota's front morphed off of him, forming a miniature Angra that reached out for Shirou's throat.

What the Angra forgot, however-

"Ex-"

Was that Shirou wasn't alone.

"-calibur!!!"

A blast of golden Oracle, a beam of light that would purify the evil it touched. Spreading from a God Arc made to represent victory, it beamed towards the immobile lump of mud in the distance. As for the Angra reaching for his vitals-

"Shirou!"

A burst of Oracle, a displacement of air immediately next to Shirou's face, and a shot of black and red flying into the distance. From Rin Tohsaka came one of her patented Gandr shots, eviscerating the Angra that had taken root on Kota's front. And the last bits of mud remaining, both coming towards him and flying away from the remnants of the Excalibered Angra-

**Swish! Boom.**

Were erased by the remnants of the Oracle within Enkidu, shot down by ten Oracle blades.

Enkidu hit the floor, and the battle was over. Shirou had a moment to smile at the complaints he likely racked up in his careless usage of everyone's God Arcs, before eventually feeling himself succumb to all the pain he was experiencing.

With the last sound out of his mouth being a nearly unhearable question, he crashed down to the floor, ignorant of everyone's concerned cries.

"Was I able to become a Hero of Justice... Kiritsugu?"

So, the Battle to Surpass the Past had come to a close.

* * *

**Hi all. Cee here. It's been seven months, and I'm finally back. No good excuse other than... writer's block? And perpetual laziness. But I'm here, and I'm not dead. So yeah.**

**Just to note, this chapter was written sporadically in bursts throughout the seven month period, with the writing and concepts probably changing like five times throughout, so if may seem inconsistent. Since it's also been seven months since I've read my own story, there might be some things inconsistent within the story itself which I intend to rectify once I do the epilogue. So, one more chapter then we're done. Then omakes.**

**Thank you to jameskorniton101, NeroAlmia, DarkSlayerZR1, GamalielRM2001, Swiftcaliston, AlbusManc, Maximum Rhapsody, Wolf579, AnonWhoLikesToRead, rauk14, nanox876, tsukiyomi83, Wastelandyoda, Sauru, Jake Wolf, LifeBlood-Aria, BROCKLESNER, Manuel Barrios, and Solitary Heart for favouriting or following or some combination of the two. And thanks jameskorinton10 and Crazy9087 for reviewing.**

**Thank you for reading, even after seven months. See you later.**

**Word count: ****18223**


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